


Bear With Me

by Moonyki



Category: EXO (Band), SHINee, SuperM (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Witchcraft, Demons, Fluff, Ghosts, M/M, Romance, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Spirits, Spooky (or at least I TRIED)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2020-10-20 14:55:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 51,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20677244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonyki/pseuds/Moonyki
Summary: Once upon a time in a haunted forest lived a powerful warlock, a moody Potions Master who loved to dance under the moonlight, couldn't take care of plants and always liked a good dramatic exit.One day, said warlock -whose name was Lee Taemin- crossed paths with a pouty, snotty brat named Jongin.





	1. Once Upon A Dream

**Author's Note:**

> I've been wanting to write this story for almost a year, actually started it probably six months ago & I am delighted to be able to finally start sharing it.  
This is a Witchcraft!AU I thought of last Halloween & I really hope you'll like this little journey.
> 
> The story will feature other SHINee & EXO members but revolves around Taemin & Jongin.  
.  
Bear With Me is edited by a very dear friend of mine, Dani. ♥

.

It was silent. The whole forest around him was so deeply quiet that it gave him an eerie feeling. There was no wind whispering through the trees; no animals walked around, cracking wood under their paws; not even breathy, creepy laughs from the ghosts could be heard. The profound silence surrounding him, albeit odd, didn't faze him. He wasn't paying attention to it, anyway. Up there, illuminating the sky, bathing him in a soft, holy glow, was the moon. It was all he cared about.

Taemin stretched his hands high above his head, as if trying to reach it, and twisted his wrists, his fingers brushing against each other as his whole body shifted and swayed. He was dancing, eyes closed, lips pulled into a smile. There was no sound, but he didn't care. The moon was singing to him a hypnotic melody that he followed with his soul. He was spinning, his long hair forming a circle around his head, as if he were wearing a halo.

He threw his head back, almost violently, and abruptly opened his eyes as wide as he could to stare at it. The moon. It was reflected in his eyes, and he tried to absorb all of its light with his body.

Maybe he did. Maybe he succeeded. The moon suddenly disappeared. He hadn't even blinked. It simply left, as if extinguished, and a shiver crept up Taemin's spine.

The deafening silence around him became heavier. He became fully aware of it. His breathing resonated throughout the woods as he continued looking at the sky, waiting for the moon to come back. Where was it? Where did it go?

The stars couldn't provide enough light to see further than a few meters around him. He was about to raise his hand to summon a light, but his eyes caught something glowing in the distance, making him pause.

"Taemin..."

He heard a breathy call of his name. It was low and soft, but it seemed loud in the uncanny silence. Then his eyes caught that sparkle again. It seemed to be coming from far away, somewhere between the trees.

Taemin straightened up and tilted his head toward it. He stole another glance at the dark, starry sky, but the moon was still absent. So he turned away and began walking slowly toward the bright glow.

The sound of his own footsteps seemed ominous to his ears. There was an uncomfortable feeling invading his chest. He should have left. His guts felt sour with the sense of impending danger, but he couldn't stop. He walked right toward it.

Taemin froze when he was close enough to realize that the glow was two golden spheres. They were staring right at him. Disappearing for a brief second, the spheres blinked. Whatever was looking at him had just blinked. Then it moved. It felt like the whole forest was moving in front of Taemin. The beast, or whatever it was, was huge. It looked like it was made of shadows.

It moved closer, but Taemin could still only distinguish those bright, golden eyes. He heard a strange, guttural noise and finally made out a snout. The beast stopped a few meters away from him and bared its teeth.

Suddenly, the moon reappeared, but Taemin wished it hadn't. He saw a flash of red before his eyes. The sudden light made the monster seem larger and even more terrifying, its black fur suddenly brightening into deep shades of red. Taemin still couldn't see the outline of its body.

He heard a distant scream just before his eyes suddenly opened.

His breathing was erratic. He had trouble inhaling the air that his panicked heart needed. His whole body was shaking, and he placed one hand over his chest, closing his eyes as he tried desperately to calm down.

He kept blinking, far too quickly, and struggled to situate himself. It took him several seconds to realize that he was sitting in his own bed. In safety.

Still shivering in fright, he pushed his bedsheets away from his sweating body and set his feet on the ground. The cold he felt under his toes helped ground him. He brushed his hair away from his forehead before pressing his palms against his eyelids. His heart was thundering loudly, and he couldn’t keep his eyes closed for very long. There was still the terrifying shadow of that beast burned against his eyelids.

Taemin got up, swiftly, and left his room. He went down the narrow stairs of his house and barged into his living room. He checked the whole house, making sure that every window was closed and that all of his amulets and spells were still in place. It hadn't been a dream. He knew it couldn’t have been a dream. There was a cold sweat running along his spine, and all of his senses were on alert. His whole body was tense as if it were trying to scream at him to run for his life because danger was coming.

He went to his kitchen without paying any attention to the potion still simmering over the flames in his living room fireplace. It was a very sensitive potion, which he had been working on for the past three weeks, and it required a lot of care. But right then, he completely forgot about it.

He put some water in the kettle on his stove and prepared a small mix of green tea and chamomile, hoping it would calm his nerves and let him think. He needed to calm down and analyze the situation. He needed to breathe and determine what to do. He needed to do some research. He had to find out what that thing that was threatening him was.

Taemin looked up, staring through the window at the garden behind his house and the forest all around. It was still so early in the morning that there was no trace of the sun; only darkness, shadows, and snow could be seen. He had chosen to live in that forest precisely because it was so dense that the sun could barely reach him there. But on that morning, he wished there was a bit more light around. His kettle emitted a very acute whistle, but Taemin didn't hear it. His eyes were fixed on a precise point on his window. He thought he had seen a sparkle of gold. It had lasted only a very brief moment, but it made the hair on the nape of his neck stand on end.

Jerking back into reality, Taemin frowned, then cursed, then rushed out of his kitchen, waving his hand toward the stove to turn off the burner and make the kettle move away from the heat. He climbed back up the stairs quickly, panting in the process, and threw himself toward his closet to quickly find some clothes.

Ten minutes later, he rushed out of his front door, bundled up in seven different layers of large, dark, cottony clothes and carrying his broom in one hand. It took him three tries to manage locking his door properly because he couldn't stop trembling, and he was getting very frustrated. He even heard the crows resting in the trees nearby croak at him in what sounded like laughter, but he didn't have time to hex them. When he finally locked the door, he let out a long sigh.

"Now," he murmured to no one but himself, "please, be home. By all the devils of Hell, be fucking home."

He straddled his broomstick and took off, squinting his eyes against the freezing-cold, winter wind that was hitting his cheeks.

-

A book fell open right in front of him, and Taemin jumped on his seat, blinking his eyes rapidly as he glanced at a drawing of a particularly hideous creature. It looked like a dead dog that had somehow come back to life. It was huge and cloaked in shadows, baring teeth even larger than those of the beast Taemin had seen in his nightmare. It was monstrous. And Taemin was grateful that he hadn’t eaten anything before he made his way to Kyungsoo's god-forsaken place because the next page depicted one of the monster's victims. 

"Is that it?" Kyungsoo asked with a raised eyebrow.

He seemed skeptical of his own question, but he still looked expectantly at Taemin, the shadow of a pout on his lips.

"No," Taemin sighed.

"Yeah... I figured," Kyungsoo shrugged. "You wouldn't have made it here if you'd seen this..."

He took the book back and flipped through its pages with a look of such indifference that Taemin scrunched up his nose.

"What do you mean?"

Kyungsoo looked up, glaring at him in silence for a couple of seconds before he sighed.

"This is a Hellhound," he replied, tilting his head toward the book. "People usually die before they even get the chance to realize they’ve seen one. Nasty dogs, really..."

Taemin winced, sighed, and ran a hand through his hair before turning to the couple of books still waiting on the table. He felt a bit helpless and overwhelmed by the vast array of creatures that didn’t look like the beast from his nightmare.

"Where's Sehun?"

"Hunting. This one?"

Kyungsoo showed him another picture, this one of a beast with horns and blazing gold eyes. Taemin only shook his head.

"It didn't have horns."

Kyungsoo clicked his tongue as he turned away, putting the book back on his immense bookshelf and searching for another one.

Kyungsoo's house was bigger than Taemin's but even dimmer and more confined. There was a low, orange light provided by the soft flames inside the narrow fireplace in the corner of the cluttered living room where they were sitting. It smelled of leather, sage, and several other plants.

Despite not being his closest acquaintance, Do Kyungsoo was the first person Taemin had thought of that morning, drenched in his own sweat and unable to stop thinking about the demonic beast he had encountered during the night. Kyungsoo knew about many different types of creatures, many types of demons. He was the only demonologist Taemin even knew of, the only warlock mad enough to decide that hunting down disgusting creatures was the best possible choice of expertise. Taemin lived in a haunted forest; he was constantly surrounded by ghosts, spirits, and demons of chaos and mayhem. Even so, he hadn't seen even half of the things Kyungsoo had fought. And he definitely didn't plan to.

"I'm going to need more details," Kyungsoo grunted.

They had been at it for two hours already, and Kyungsoo still had no idea what kind of monster Taemin had encountered.

"There's nothing more to say," Taemin said, leaning on the table and scratching his neck. "Big with black fur that shines red in the moonlight. Golden eyes. Gigantic sharp teeth. No horns."

"And you're sure it wasn't just a dream?"

Taemin gave him a stern look, and Kyungsoo dismissed his question with a wave of his hand.

"Never mind."

Taemin opened the book laying in front of him, flipping through its pages absentmindedly.

"It scared the crap out of me," he admitted in a whisper.

He could feel Kyungsoo move closer and look down at him, but he avoided the heavy stare.

"You're the last person I would have expected to come to my place saying something like that," Kyungsoo said.

"I know, right," Taemin laughed bitterly. "I need to know what the hell I'm dealing with."

Kyungsoo grabbed a chair and sat next to Taemin. He was about to say something but stopped himself, his mouth still hanging open. Taemin heard it too, the little gush of wind coming from somewhere near the entry. Kyungsoo raised his arm slightly, and he waited, completely still, as a hawk flew right to him, digging its claws into the thick, leather protective brace that the warlock always wore on his forearm. A little smile was playing on Kyungsoo's lips as he let his fingers gently caress the light brown feathers of his bird of prey. 

"Hey there."

Taemin heard the hawk whistle to Kyungsoo before the animal turned to look at him, squawking as he raised his head a little.

"Hi, Sehun."

The falcon continued looking at him for a few seconds, then turned back to his master, nibbling on Kyungsoo's ear as he let out a few more whistles.

"He saw something coming for him; we're trying to figure out what it is," Kyungsoo explained to Sehun.

The demonologist grabbed another book, flipping it open, and went through the table of contents. He seemed to be searching for something specific. Taemin was now captivated by the way Sehun kept whistling in response. The fact that Kyungsoo actually understood the noises his hawk made never failed to amaze him. Perhaps he was a little bit envious. The relationship between a warlock and their familiar was something precious, treasured. It was one of a kind.

"I don't know," Kyungsoo said. "Until we find the damn creature, I suppose. Hopefully, it won't take us too long."

Taemin couldn't help but smile as he watched Sehun hopping around, looking back at Kyungsoo with shining eyes. Kyungsoo looked up, shoving another book under Taemin's nose.

"This one?"

Taemin looked down to see a picture of yet another disgusting creature, this one with half the body of a snake. He shook his head.

"It had four legs... I think. Or anyway, it wasn't a snake. I recognized a snout."

"And why the hell didn't you tell me that when I asked for more details?"

"Sorry."

Kyungsoo sighed, rolling his eyes as he got up. Taemin tried to shift his focus back to the encyclopedia Kyungsoo had asked him to go through earlier, but Sehun was making his way over to him with a series of high, soft pitched sounds, and it distracted him all over again.

"He's gonna sleep on the couch," Kyungsoo blurted from the other side of the room.

Sehun squinted his eyes, and Taemin tried not to laugh as he watched the bird of prey wiggle around.

"No," Kyungsoo sighed, visibly exasperated, and Taemin really wished he could understand what Sehun was saying to make his master so annoyed with him. "You're sleeping in your bed, and Taemin is sleeping on the couch."

The hawk cooed like he was trying to coax Kyungsoo into giving in to his whims.

"Sehun, I swear to Satan, if you don't stop whining, I'll put you in a cage tonight."

Sehun spread out his wings and screeched louder. He sounded offended, but Taemin couldn't tell for sure. Kyungsoo finally came back to them, his arms filled with books that he dropped on the table. He narrowed his eyes at his hawk. 

"Don't tempt me. Now, will you please let us work instead of making everything about you? Taemin's life is actually on the line here."

Sehun raised his head indignantly and took off, flying up to a corner of the room where he landed grumpily and turned around to avoid looking at them.

"Is he sulking?" Taemin asked.

"Yes, he does that often. Familiar from Hell, I swear...," Kyungsoo mumbled.

Taemin didn't comment, but he looked back at Sehun, who was carefully smoothing out his feathers, and hummed.

Kyungsoo made them some tea, a lot stronger than what Taemin was used to, as they continued going through dozens of books. But their efforts were in vain. They barely took a break to eat, and Sehun came back to them afterward. He flew down to Kyungsoo, resting on his master's shoulder and whistling quietly in his ear. It seemed like he was trying to help, pointing out specific books to Kyungsoo, but there weren’t any demons or creatures that looked even remotely like the one Taemin had seen the previous night. The more hours that passed by without result, the more nervous Taemin got. He was starting to think that he had hallucinated the creature, or that, maybe, it truly had only been a dream. But every time the thought of simply going back home crossed his mind, he felt a sudden terror claw at his heart.

"Taemin..."

Kyungsoo was shaking his arm, making him jump again. Taemin hadn't realized that he had started to doze off over a book. The demonologist next to him didn't seem tired at all, and Taemin wondered how many all-nighters he was used to pulling in a row. 

"You should go to sleep."

Taemin straightened up and rubbed his eyes with his fists before he looked over at his friend with a lazy blink.

"I'll try to, yeah... Thank you for letting me stay here by the way."

Kyungsoo shook his hand, dismissing the thanks as being unnecessary. Taemin closed the book in front of him, stretched a bit, and stood up, heading towards the couch.

"Sehun's room is the last door on the left," Kyungsoo muttered.

Taemin frowned and looked back at him. He saw the hawk on Kyungsoo's shoulder widen his eyes as well.

"I'm sorry?"

"You can take his bed. It'll be more comfortable than that old couch. He'll sleep with me."

Taemin heard a long, loud, happy howl come from Sehun, who celebrated by gnawing on and picking at the hair on Kyungsoo's head.

"Alright," Taemin said, trying to hide his laughter. "Thank you."

Kyungsoo grumbled something inaudible as he tried to break free from his falcon's displays of affection.

"Stop being such a pain in my ass," Kyungsoo whined to his hawk.

Taemin left the room with a snort. He could still hear the warlock bickering with his familiar as he went down the narrow hallway winding through Kyungsoo's house.

Sehun's room was small, round, and a bit messy, and Taemin couldn't help but scrunch up his nose at the odd, lingering smell. He saw a couple of animal shells on the ground, and no matter how much he tried to remember that Sehun was a bird of prey, it was still creepy. But he felt safer here, with Kyungsoo and Sehun close, than he would have in his own house, so he could deal with the awkwardness of it all.

It was only when he laid down in bed that he finally remembered the potion still simmering in his living room, and he winced.

"Fuck!"

He let out a long sigh, rolling around in the sheets as he grumbled to himself. It would be ruined by the time he got back home, which meant he would have to start from scratch on the next full moon. And he'd have to pay another visit to Park Chanyeol to get more mandrake powder. How annoying.

He turned over again, mentally listing all of the complications that the beast from his nightmare had bestowed upon him. That's when the memory of those glowing, golden eyes came back to him, nailing him to the mattress in fright.

He wondered if he would see it again, if closing his eyes meant going back to his forest on a moonless night. The thought made his heart race, and his throat began to tighten. The sleepiness that had lulled him in Kyungsoo's living room had now completely vanished, and he found himself staring at the ceiling of Sehun's bedroom for hours.

It was only when the first glimmers of dawn pierced through the large window that Taemin finally fell asleep.

-

Taemin shuffled down the hallway with a yawn. He still felt exhausted, and his whole body ached from being too tense, but he had given up on staying in bed. He didn’t have the time to try to sleep more. He rubbed his eyes as he slowly made his way to the kitchen.

He could hear Kyungsoo moving around, probably preparing breakfast, while talking to Sehun.

"So, you got beaten up by a squirrel?"

Taemin blinked a few times and frowned, wondering if he had heard that correctly.

"It wasn't a regular squirrel, okay?"

Taemin froze just before the turn to enter the kitchen. He had never heard that voice before, and he wondered if it belonged to Sehun. He heard Kyungsoo snicker.

"He was strong, okay! Really strong!"

"Okay, you got beaten up by a strong squirrel. You're right, that makes it even better."

"You're so annoying, Kyungsoo-ya!"

Taemin coughed, loudly enough for the two people inside to hear him, and the room quickly fell silent.

"I'm awake," Taemin croaked from the hallway.

He felt a bit awkward interrupting them, but it would have been even worse to keep spying on them. He heard a rushing sound, a big whoosh of air, and he knew that Sehun had probably turned back into a hawk.

"Come in," came Kyungsoo's voice.

Taemin rubbed at his neck as he peered in and then entered. Kyungsoo was sitting at the table with Sehun perched on the empty chair next to him. Taemin waved slowly at both of them as he sat down with an awkward expression.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to spy or anything."

He heard Sehun whistle, and Kyungsoo shrugged.

"He says it's fine."

Taemin nodded softly, but he still felt a bit guilty. Familiars usually only showed their human form to their masters; Taemin was very aware of that.

"Sehun went hunting this morning," Kyungsoo said, matter-of-factly, before a grin split his face. "Apparently, his prey ended up being too strong for him."

Sehun cried out and spun around, but Kyungsoo only shook his hand at him with a laugh.

"It was a very strong squirrel, you see..."

The hawk continued squawking as his master got up, and Taemin glanced over at Sehun with a pensive look on his face. 

"What kind of squirrel could be too strong for Sehun, though? I feel like I sure as hell wouldn't want to cross their path."

His comment made the two others stop bickering, and Sehun seemed to inflate with pride. He hooted at Kyungsoo, who poured Taemin a cup of tea before he went back to the table.

"A spirit, clearly."

"I didn't know there were squirrel spirits."

"Maybe there aren't. Maybe this idiot made it up just now..."

Sehun flew to him and deliberately landed on Kyungsoo's uncovered arm, planting his claws into his skin. Kyungsoo didn't even flinch, but Taemin couldn’t help widening his eyes. Kyungsoo lifted his hand up to Sehun's beak, holding it closed as he looked over at his guest.

"Anyway, while we're on the topic of spirits..."

"Yeah?"

"I did a bit more research last night, and I'm not sure I can actually help you with that beast of yours."

Taemin stilled for a moment. Then he set his untouched tea back on the table, swallowing hard as he glanced up at Kyungsoo.

"Why not?"

"I think you should go see Kim Jongdae. You know him, right?"

That made Taemin frown, and he nodded slowly.

"Yes, yes I do. He's a friend actually. You think I saw a spirit?"

"I really don't know, but I think it's worth a try. I'll keep digging deeper on my side, and I'll let you know if I find anything worth mentioning. But I think we should split up to cover more ground since we have no idea how much time you have left before the damned thing finds you."

Taemin pressed his hands to his face with a long sigh.

"Jongdae's house is so far away though..."

"You could project yourself. It's not like he would mind..."

Taemin shook his head slowly with a crooked eyebrow.

"There's an unknown monster after me. I’m sure as hell not leaving my body behind under any circumstances. No offense, but since you don't know what it is, I'd rather not leave my fate in your hands."

"I wouldn't do it either," Kyungsoo snorted, the shadow of a smile playing on his lips. "I was simply pointing out that you could."

They looked at each other in silence for a while until Kyungsoo stretched and got up.

"You can have some breakfast if you want. I'll go back to researching. Don't forget to let me know if you find anything."

"Thanks, Kyungsoo."

"I'm counting on a discount the next time I come by to get some potions."

Taemin picked up his cup of tea with a little laugh.

"I'll give you some for free."

"Nice."

Kyungsoo left, and Taemin turned back to the table. There was a bowl of rice waiting for him, along with a few pieces of grilled meat and eggs.

He looked up when he heard Sehun whistle. The hawk was looking right at him as he moved closer. He rubbed his head on Taemin's shoulder, and the warlock lifted his hand to pet him, but Sehun took off flying before Taemin's fingers could touch him. Sehun disappeared through the door, probably going back to Kyungsoo.

By the time Taemin finished his breakfast and was ready to leave, Kyungsoo had his nose buried in a book again. The demonologist barely paid him any attention when Taemin came to say goodbye. He only grunted and waved in the general direction of his guest, and Taemin knew better than to insist. Kyungsoo wasn't one for meaningless conversations, and he probably felt like they had already said everything that needed to be voiced.

Sehun escorted Taemin outside, whistling softly at him as the warlock straddled his broom. With one last look over his shoulder and a silent thanks to his friend, Taemin took off. Sehun flew next to him for a couple of miles before the hawk dived down and flew back into the woods with a cry.

-

The flight to Jongdae's house had taken almost all day. The icy wind of January had made it particularly uncomfortable, and Taemin had found himself compelled to strengthen the spell he had put on himself to keep him warm during his trip. By the time he had finally made it to the cliff where Jongdae's house was perched, Taemin was starving, freezing, and exhausted. It had made him curse the monster that had targeted him all over again.

It had been impossible to land anywhere close to Jongdae's; the wind was so strong, howling in Taemin's ears, that he couldn't keep his broom straight. He had been forced to back down, landing far below before he began to make his way up the cliff, following the tortuous path to the top.

Taemin wasn't sure which was worse: Kyungsoo's desolated woods by the mountains or Jongdae's lonely cliff by the ocean. His haunted forest sure seemed quite welcoming next to either.

Jongdae's house always looked like it was ready to collapse. It was a four-story house that resembled a tower and was surrounded by enormous plants and bushes, the whole thing standing on the edge of a precipice. It was very clear to Taemin that the only thing keeping the place together was the warlock's powerful magic.

Taemin climbed the few stairs to the entrance and rang the little bell by the door. It took only a couple of seconds for it to open with a creak, and Taemin couldn't help the little smile gracing his lips as he was met with silence and an empty doorway. He immediately looked down and tilted his head toward the fluffy black cat sitting in the entry, staring at him with two, bright-green eyes.

"Good evening, Minseok."

The cat remained silent, but Taemin saw his long tail rise and sway behind him.

"May I come in?"

Minseok didn't move an inch, but his eyes traveled down Taemin's silhouette and stopped at his feet. More precisely, at Taemin's dirty, muddy boots. He mewled, and the warlock sighed.

"Can you let me in, first? It's really cold out here. I promise I'll take them off without making a mess."

The cat's eyes were back on his face, heavy and serious. His tail twitched more quickly, as if to indicate his annoyance, and Taemin grunted.

"Fine," he mumbled.

He set his broom against the wall and secured it with a spell. Then he bent down to untie his shoes, hopped around to take them off, and rose again, staring back at the cat. Minseok lifted his butt up and turned to walk away, letting the warlock in. Taemin was careful to put his boots in the shoe cabinet by the door before he followed the familiar across the large hall and up the stairs leading to the first floor. 

Jongdae's home was bright and colorful. It gave a sense of tidiness despite the multitude of objects laying everywhere, each neatly placed on the numerous shelves and various pieces of furniture. Everything had a place, and every surface was spotless.

Minseok continued to climb the stairs, and Taemin glanced up toward the next landing when he finally noticed a voice coming from the second floor. Jongdae was singing. Minseok lead him to the kitchen, where the warlock was waltzing around, humming to the plant sitting on his counter. Taemin recognized it as a particularly beautiful winter honeysuckle. Despite it not being his domain of expertise, Jongdae was still extremely gifted in botany.

"Hi there, Jongdae..."

"Lee Taemin," Jongdae cheered, stopping his song as he greeted him. But, instead of turning around, he leaned over his plant, inspecting it closely. "You're really adorable."

"I'm sorry?"

Jongdae looked up and smiled at him.

"I was talking to Persephone."

The warlock pointed towards the winter honeysuckle, and Taemin rolled his eyes slightly. He saw Minseok leap onto the counter and rub himself against Jongdae's arm with a low meow.

"It's nice to see you again," Jongdae added. "How have you been doing?"

Taemin sat on the chair in front of him and rubbed his tired neck with one hand. His whole body was aching from too much stress.

"I've been okay until two nights ago. I actually came to see you because I need help."

"Oh, I see... What can I do, then?"

Minseok leaped off the counter, grazing against Taemin’s leg, but when the warlock looked down, the cat had already disappeared.

"I saw something, a beast, in a dream... Or, well, a nightmare, really... And uh-... I've never encountered anything like it before. I feel like it's coming for me, and I need to figure out what it is."

Jongdae nodded quietly for a couple of seconds, then he clapped his hands together so loudly and unexpectedly that Taemin couldn’t help jumping slightly on his chair.

"I know exactly what we're gonna do, then."

Taemin blinked in surprise. He hadn't even given him any details; he had barely just arrived; how could Jongdae already have come up with a plan?

"You do?"

"We're gonna eat a little something! You're so thin that I can almost see through you."

Taemin deflated like a balloon.

"Yeah... well, I won't say no to that. I'm quite starving actually... But-"

"But first, you're gonna take a bath."

"Jongdae, I don't mean to be rude, but I'd like to emphasize the urgency of my situation here... It’s already been two days since I saw that fucking monstrosity, and I don't know how fast it is, so-..."

Jongdae trotted around the counter, pushed on Taemin's back to force him to get up, and smiled brightly at him.

"I know. I know. I understand. It's an emergency! But I can tell that you came straight from Do's unholy place; you stink of asphodel. We can't have that! This is a friendly house for all spirits and ghosts. I can't have you going around smelling like an exorcist. Go take a bath. I've got some really nice stuff to make bubbles and such."

Jongdae's hands traveled all over Taemin's shoulders as he continued pushing him out of the kitchen and towards the third floor without letting him speak.

"You're really tense. I'll put something to help you relax in the bath too. And I'm gonna prepare you something good and healthy to eat, alright? I bet you haven’t eaten well since you saw that scary thing, have you? Then, you'll rest a little. I don't like those dark circles under your eyes, Mister. Minseok will prepare the guest bedroom for you."

"Jongdae, I-..."

Taemin felt Minseok run between his legs, and he almost tripped, but Jongdae held him upright as he forced him into the bathroom.

"We'll discuss the matter of this so-called beast tomorrow morning. I'm sure it's nothing that terrible!"

Jongdae shoved him into a corner of the small bathroom and approached his clawfoot bathtub. He let the bath run, made his way to the shelves filled with little boxes and bottles, and hummed as he wondered aloud about which ones would make Taemin's skin the smoothest while getting rid of that terrible asphodel smell. Taemin pouted, sitting on the toilet. He knew Jongdae well enough to know that there was nothing he could do now to stop him from pampering him. That was probably the reason why he had gone to Kyungsoo first.

"Jongdae... I appreciate all that you're doing, but we're potentially in great danger. Do you realize that?"

The warlock turned around and tilted his head softly at Taemin with a scrunch of his nose.

"I do."

His suddenly calm tone surprised Taemin a bit.

"To help you, I'll need to enter your mind and see that nightmare of yours. I can't do that when you're exhausted, cold, and hungry. So please, have a little patience. Take it easy for tonight and calm down. You're safe here. You've got me, Minseok, and a bunch of quite aggressive plants in the gardens to protect you. I know Minnie looks small and cute, but he's fierce and extremely powerful. We'll take care of your problem in the morning."

Jongdae went back to the bathtub to drop in a few potions, then made his way to Taemin. He patted his head softly and winked at him.

"Enjoy your bath. I'll make you some noodle soup with seafood."

Taemin opened his mouth but was unable to find any words. He gripped Jongdae's sleeve as his friend made a move to leave the room.

"Thank you."

"You're very welcome."

Jongdae left, and Taemin locked the door behind him. He turned around to face the bathtub filled with lilac water and foam, forced himself to breathe deeply as he undressed, and turned off the running water. The deep scent of lavender was already getting to his head, and he let himself sink into the warm water, all of his muscles softening as he lay down. He let out a shaky breath and put his head underwater to find silence and calm.

The beast wouldn't find him here, in such a lovely bath, he thought in a moment of silliness.

.

.

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there!
> 
> I'm super excited to start this new adventure, so thank you a lot for reading ♥  
I hope you liked it & I hope to see you in chapter 2 soon!
> 
> Catch me on twitter @moonyki


	2. Look Through My Eyes

.

They were sitting on the floor, legs crossed, on soft, comfy, light-yellow cushions, and Jongdae was stirring some tea in a large bowl. He was humming softly, smiling when he felt his familiar brush against his back.

Jongdae set his wooden spoon on the coffee table and looked up at Taemin, who was staring at him silently. He gave the prepared tea to his guest with an encouraging smile.

"Please..."

Taemin inhaled deeply and drank it all. He had braced himself for something quite disgusting, but the strange concoction wasn’t that bad, not worse than some of his own potions, at least.

"And now what?" he asked.

"Now, we wait for a couple of minutes. Then, I'll take a look in your memories to find that beast... and see if it's a spirit... or a ghost, maybe."

Taemin squinted his eyes with a pout.

"That's it? You can tell right away?"

"I'm an expert, Taemin. I can recognize a spirit when I see one."

Taemin shivered on his cushion and nodded softly. He knew Jongdae specialized in necromancy, spiritism, and astral projections, but he had never needed to see him in action before. He had somehow expected something slightly more epic than sitting on the ground, drinking tea.

"What if it's a spirit, then? What are we going to do?"

"I'll try to feel their intentions towards you, and we'll see from there. Potentially contact them."

"It didn't look very friendly the first time around..."

Jongdae laughed at that and crossed his arms over his chest.

"That's the thing about spirits... Sometimes they don't realize how intimidating they are."

Taemin rolled his eyes at the comment but didn’t argue.

"Alright, it's time now," Jongdae said, shifting his weight a little.

He glanced around briefly before tilting his head to the side.

"Minseok? Minnie, I need you now..."

Taemin turned around to see the black cat trotting back into the room and hopping onto his master's lap. Jongdae ran his hand along his familiar's spine, and Minseok immediately began purring quite loudly. Jongdae cupped the cat's face, scratching behind his ears as he smiled.

"Are you ready?"

Minseok meowed, and Jongdae leaned forward as he stared into his familiar's eyes. Taemin frowned; he was about to ask what was going on, but he stopped himself when he realized that Jongdae was completely frozen. The warlock wasn't even blinking; he was entirely still, his magic crackling around him, so thick that Taemin could almost see it. Slowly, Jongdae closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, Taemin gasped. Two shiny, bright-green eyes were staring back at him. Eyes that he recognized quite well. Taemin looked down at Minseok, afraid of seeing Jongdae's eyes looking up at him from the cat's face, but the familiar seemed asleep; Taemin wasn't sure.

Jongdae moved his hand, beckoning Taemin closer.

"This might hurt a little bit..."

Taemin furrowed his eyebrows and opened his mouth to ask what Jongdae planned to do, but before he could say anything, he saw his friend raise one of his hands, and a sudden fear swallowed him whole. Jongdae's hand had claws: large, thick, sharp, black talons that pierced Taemin's neck as the warlock took a hold of him.

Taemin couldn't help the scream that left his mouth, but it sounded muffled, even to his own ears. He felt like he was caught in a whirlwind, so far away from Jongdae's safe, cozy house.

Abruptly, he felt his feet hit solid ground, and he leaned forward, breathing heavily and blinking repeatedly. Once he straightened himself, Taemin swiped one palm on his sweaty forehead as he looked around before absentmindedly pressing his fingers to his neck.

He had expected to find blood and an open wound, but he couldn't feel a single trace of Jongdae's claws cutting his skin.

He was in his forest, on a moonless night. Taemin recognized his nightmare immediately, and an abrupt terror seized him. He felt something on his shoulder and turned around with a startled shout, only to see Jongdae smiling softly at him. Minseok's green eyes seemed even more eerie, shining so brightly in the dark night.

"Where is he?"

Jongdae's voice was low. It sounded faint and distant, which only increased Taemin's anxiety even more. Without a word, Taemin slowly moved forward, scanning the blackness that stretched before him until he suddenly caught sight of two golden spheres watching him from between the trees. With a wince, he pointed one of his fingers, and Jongdae immediately began walking in that direction.

Taemin couldn't move. He wondered if he should follow his friend and face the monster once more, but he didn't want to see those teeth. He didn't want to see the shadows cloaking the beast's body. He didn't want to confront that omen of death again, even in his own memory.

Taemin stayed where he was, watching with increasing anxiety as Jongdae moved closer to the beast.

They were moving inside his memory, and Taemin knew that nothing from his dream should be different. Not a single element should have changed. Everything was supposed to go the exact same way: the beast baring its teeth, the moon reappearing, the beast’s fur shining red, and Taemin waking up. But it didn't. As Jongdae slowly grew closer, his steps completely silent, Taemin suddenly heard the monster growl loudly.

Taemin froze and opened his mouth to yell at Jongdae to come back, to be careful, to protect himself, anything of help, but before he could do so, everything went white.

Taemin sat up, inhaling deeply as if he had been underwater for several minutes. He looked around and recognized Jongdae's living room. His friend was lying on the ground with Minseok pawing at his face gently. Taemin crawled over and knelt next to him, shaking him by his shoulders.

"Fuck! Jongdae? Jongdae, are you alright? Please, wake up."

Jongdae opened his eyes abruptly. They were a deep, dark brown again. He blinked and held his head for a moment before he sat up in front of Taemin.

"Are you okay?" Taemin asked, his voice acute with worry. "Did something happen? Are you hurt?"

Jongdae gave him a large smile and tapped his cheek gently.

"I'm alright, everything went perfectly."

"Perfectly? Are you kidding me? I thought that thing attacked you!"

"Nah, he didn't want to hurt anyone. I know what he is, by the way."

Taemin fell back onto his butt and let out a long sigh.

"You do? Really?"

"Yes. He's a spirit, and you're an idiot."

Taemin opened his mouth in disbelief and stared at Jongdae as his friend got up, dusting off his clothes before he calmly left the room.

"What?!"

Taemin jumped up and followed him to the kitchen. Jongdae shook his head with a dramatic sigh as he grabbed his kettle and put some water on the stove to boil.

"It was a spirit, but I couldn't get a proper look at him, which means that you're incredibly obtuse."

Taemin pouted and moved to stand next to Jongdae, arms crossed over his chest, sulking.

"What do you mean?"

"He didn't want to show himself to me, and he growled when I got too close... He did that because I'm not allowed to see him in that form. Congratulations, Lee Taemin, you've finally met your familiar... I can’t believe you didn't even recognize the poor soul who got linked to you."

Taemin widened his eyes; shock was written all over his face, but he didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to do or even think. He stood there, dumbfounded, only vaguely aware that Jongdae had started humming again. Then, he heard the kettle whistling, but he was still immobile.

A soft pressure against his legs made him look down to find Minseok’s tail wrapped around his ankle before the cat crept back to his warlock.

"My familiar?"

His own voice seemed almost foreign to his ears.

"Yes."

He knew Park Chanyeol had just gotten his a few moons ago, while Jongdae had found Minseok more than a decade ago. And Taemin was the last one of his circle of friends not to have a familiar. He had wondered what was taking so long. Why hadn't his familiar shown up yet?

The idea of having a powerful spirit linked to him, someone who would increase and magnify all of his powers, was enthralling. The magic that a warlock could only do with the help of their familiar had always seemed so fascinating. It tempted him. Seeing the way Jongdae had synchronized with Minseok just a few minutes ago had made him so jealous.

"Are you sure?" Taemin asked, skeptical and hopeful at the same time.

Jongdae turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow, and he sighed.

"How many times do I have to repeat that I am an expert?"

Taemin was torn between excitement and despair. The joy of finally having a familiar assigned to him was thrilling, but to think that the first feeling that the spirit had ever given him was terror, to think that he hadn't even been able to feel their link through his fear... it made him a bit nauseous.

"Why is my familiar a monster, though?"

"He's not."

Jongdae let go of the teapot so he could turn and face Taemin fully. The sad, tiny voice of his friend made him furrow his eyebrows.

"Why couldn't I get a cute kitty like Minseok? Why did I end up with the freaking Beast of Gévaudan?!"

Minseok hissed at that, and Jongdae couldn't help but chuckle.

"Your familiar isn't a beast. He was simply in his purest, most powerful form... Believe me, Minseok's true spirit form is downright impressive too. Your familiar was probably so excited to finally meet you that he couldn't help himself. I feel bad for him."

"For him?" Taemin whined. "He scared the crap out of me!"

"He didn't mean to!"

Taemin rolled his eyes and turned away to sit on a nearby chair.

"You don't know that. He bared his teeth at me, you know..."

"Maybe he was trying to smile."

Taemin snorted.

"Look," Jongdae breathed out, "your familiar wouldn't ever hurt you. All I'm saying is that he felt your link, tried to reach you, and now he's probably waiting around your home, lost and confused because you ran away without thinking."

"I _was_ thinking!" Taemin complained. "I was thinking about saving my ass."

"From a non-existent threat. As I said, you're an idiot. Now, do you want a cup of tea or will you be leaving immediately so you can go meet your familiar?"

Taemin slumped in his chair, sulking. He eyed the teapot, then Minseok, but didn't dare look at Jongdae.

"I'll be going, I guess."

"Good boy."

"If my familiar eats me alive, I'll come back to haunt your ass."

Jongdae crossed his arms over his chest with a smirk.

"Oh, you're so very welcome, Lee Taemin," he taunted. "I was happy to help you solve your problem. No, I don't want anything in return but thank you for asking."

Taemin glowered at Jongdae but kept his mouth shut. He got up, angrily shoving his hands into his pockets before he suddenly whined.

"Oh, fuck."

"What is it?"

"I'm going to have to tell Kyungsoo that it was only my familiar... He's gonna be so pissed at me."

Jongdae burst out laughing, shaking so hard that he fell over his counter and tapped his hand on it.

"You're an ass," Taemin complained.

"I'm sorry, but that might be the most delightful thing about this whole affair."

Taemin grabbed an apple from the fruit basket to throw it at Jongdae's face, but Minseok leaped in between them to catch it. Taemin sighed.

"Do you have something for me to write on so I can send him a message before I go?"

"Look around in my office, on the ground floor."

Taemin thanked him and went downstairs. He found Jongdae's desk easily and wrote down a little note for Kyungsoo before setting it on fire. He watched the ashes rise in the air and disappear, then went back to the staircase.

"Jongdae, I'm going!" he yelled.

There was a small ruckus; Taemin was certain that something got broken, then fixed, and he heard a loud swear before a series of hurried footsteps.

"Don't you disappear on me without a proper goodbye," Jongdae shrieked as he ran down the stairs.

Taemin grinned when his friend finally reached him and punched his shoulder.

"Jerk," Jongdae mumbled.

"I have a monstrous familiar to find," Taemin simpered.

Jongdae pulled him into a quick hug and tapped his butt a few times.

"Alright, alright. Be careful on your way home. Don't be reckless. Take care of your little monster well, and don't be mean to him!"

"I love how you're not concerned about my well-being at all..." Taemin retorted, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I told you... Your familiar won’t hurt you."

Taemin broke their hug, a small pout playing on his lips.

"Let's hope you're right."

"I'm always right."

Taemin rolled his eyes and made his way to the entrance. He heard Minseok hiss softly when he put his shoes back on while still inside the house.

"Sorry," he whispered to the cat, who simply gave him a stern look.

Outside, the wind had calmed down. The sky was clear, and Taemin was relieved to know that his trip would at least be pleasant. He released his broom from the side of Jongdae's house and straddled it. That's when Jongdae suddenly looked up at him and winced.

"Oh, Taemin-ah, please don't-..."

He saw the smirk on his friend's face and knew that he was too late. Taemin tapped his foot on the ground, and a sudden cloud of mist swirled between them.

Jongdae coughed loudly, flapping his arms around to make the smoke go away as he looked up to see Taemin already high in the sky.

"You idiot!" he shrieked. "Every damn time! It’s so unnecessary!"

He heard Taemin's distant cackle and huffed before he went back inside his house.

The sun was setting when Taemin arrived back home. As soon as he landed in his forest, darkness surrounded him, and he immediately noticed a few pairs of red eyes, hidden between the trees, following his every move. Whispering to conjure a fireball to light his way, Taemin marched through the snow, careful where he put his feet as he followed the path to his house.

He was quiet, attentively scanning his surroundings for a pair of golden eyes or a low growl that would indicate the presence of his beastly familiar. But he neither saw nor heard anything suspicious. There were only the crows, still perched in the trees next to his garden, which squawked at him as he passed by.

Taemin cautiously opened the little gate leading to his garden and looked around. He heard a strange sound that he couldn't immediately identify, then a tiny yip, and his widened eyes caught sight of a white tuft of hair that was swaying on the ground. Taemin couldn't help but chuckle as he approached, poking the animal's butt, which was peeking out from a pile of snow. A snowy white fox emerged from it and looked at him with his snout tilted to the right.

"Hey there, Kibum."

The fox yipped softly again then started to bounce around, running between Taemin's legs before he leaped back into the snow playfully.

"What are you doing here?" Taemin sighed, the shadow of a smile playing on his lips.

Kibum didn't pay him any more attention as he was busy attacking all the snow in Taemin's garden.

"Does Jonghyun even know that you're here?"

Taemin noticed the fox still and slowly turn his head towards him. Then, the familiar rose his snout in the air cheekily, and his tail swung softly. Taemin wondered how an animal could manage to look so sassy. It made him roll his eyes. He was practically certain that Kibum had run away yet again, just to annoy his warlock.

"I'll let him know that you're safe, at least," he grumbled.

Kibum whined, then resumed his previous activity of bouncing in the snow. Shaking his head slowly, Taemin made his way to his house and yelped when he felt a knife grazing his cheek before sinking into his door.

"For fuck's sake!"

He grumbled, one hand pressing against his chest as he took a couple of deep breaths. He saw a little note pinned to the weapon and winced. It smelled of asphodel.

_You're a moron and I still want a free potion when I stop by.  
P.S. Keep the knife, in case you get scared of a bunny attacking you or something._

Taemin made a face at the note as it slowly disintegrated into dust. He set his broomstick against the door and turned back toward his garden with a long inhale.

Jongdae had mentioned that his familiar might be waiting around his house, and the beast might be lost and confused. It would probably be better for Taemin to start searching for him immediately. He didn't really want to though.

Kibum was sitting on the ground, not far away from his porch, and Taemin looked at him.

"You're done trying to destroy all the snow? Will you go back to Jonghyun now?"

Taemin waited for the fox familiar to react in some way, but Kibum didn't move an inch. He just looked at him with an intensity that made Taemin frown.

"Are you alright?"

Kibum finally turned his head away, staring instead at the corner of Taemin's house pointedly. It gave Taemin a really odd feeling.

"Did you see something?" Taemin asked. "Someone?"

Kibum glanced back at him and graciously got up to make his way around Taemin's house.

Taemin turned Kyungsoo's knife in his hand for a moment before he went down his front steps to follow the fox spirit. Kibum had stopped a little bit away and was staring at the small shelter where Taemin piled logs of wood. The warlock took a long inhale and walked closer, approaching the hut cautiously.

It wasn't big enough to hold the beast as he saw it in his nightmare. So, if Kibum was truly leading him to his familiar like Taemin thought, Jongdae had most likely been right. He had seen his familiar in his biggest, most terrifying and powerful form in that nightmare. Now, he was about to meet him in his smaller, regular form. He wondered what kind of animal that thing would turn into. What if it really was a monster?

Taemin faced the entrance of the hut and frowned. He saw piles of logs, thrown not-so-carefully, but nothing else. Taemin sighed and turned his head to look back at Kibum, but the fox spirit had disappeared. He was about to curse when he heard a soft, tiny sneeze.

Taemin widened his eyes and looked back into the shelter, his hold on Kyungsoo's knife tightening. He conjured another fireball to light the corners of the shed and finally saw a little tuft of hair between two logs. Taemin's mouth fell open in surprise, then he smiled and breathed out. It was probably not his familiar, just a frozen little creature who sought shelter anywhere it could. Taemin slowly shook his head and tucked the knife into his belt.

"Hey there..." he called softly.

The small animal jumped, then turned toward him, its head peeking up to look back at the warlock. Taemin saw two ears perking up and a long snout, then two small, round black eyes. A fluffy brown bear cub was looking at him in wonder.

"Are you-...?"

Taemin stopped himself mid-sentence. The bear cub had moved, shyly scooting closer to sniff him. Its fur was shining, and its steps were soft. When it straightened up to take a better look at Taemin, the warlock gasped.

There was something in this bear cub's eyes. There was something happening between them, something electric, something powerful, and Taemin suddenly realized that it was their link. This little guy was his familiar. This minuscule cub who was shuffling forward and softly grunting at him was the monstrosity he had encountered in the nightmare that could have traumatized him for the next ten years at least.

How ridiculous.

His familiar was moving one of his paws in the air as if he wanted to reach him, and Taemin took it in his fingers. He immediately felt the surge of magic that flowed between them. It made his heart race. But then, he realized how cold his familiar was. Slowly, so as not to scare him, Taemin moved his other hand to the bear's head to pet him.

"Let's get you inside, little one. Are you hungry?"

His familiar moaned softly again and squirmed closer to him, waddling on his legs before he let himself fall on Taemin's lap. Taemin laughed.

"Come here."

Taemin put his hands around the bear cub's round body and lifted him into his arms as he stood back up.

"Is this alright?"

A little coo answered him, and Taemin began walking back to his front door.

"Why couldn't you be this cute when we met in my dreams?" Taemin playfully accused as he frowned down at the familiar who was curled up in his arms. "Do you know how much you scared me?"

The bear cub nearly fell from his arms, and Taemin tightened his hold as the familiar tried to hide his face from his warlock with a low groan that sounded almost like an apology. 

Taemin opened the door with a click of his tongue and entered his house. He set the cub on the couch and smiled when the little bear groaned in protest and looked up at him, confused.

"Wait here for a minute."

Taemin closed the door with a twist of his wrist, lit up the fireplace with a snap of his fingers, and summoned some light with a soft-spoken spell. The dozens of candles spread all over his living-room, as well as his fireplace, lit up at once, and Taemin looked back at his familiar. He seemed even tinier, sitting in the center of the couch with his head tilted up in fascination.

Taemin grabbed a blanket laying on an armchair nearby and tucked it around his familiar. He squatted down to be at the same eye level as him and smiled as he rubbed his hands gently over the animal to help him warm up.

"I'm sorry, you know. For leaving... You really scared me, to be honest. I thought-... I thought you were an omen of death."

His bear moaned softly again, leaving his jaw hanging slightly open. It made Taemin frown. He tilted his head, looking at the bear with worry.

"Why can't I understand you?" he asked.

His voice was heavy with confusion and concern. Was it normal to be unable to understand your familiar, at first? Or did he do something wrong? Was he supposed to perform a spell, and he forgot about it?

His bear cub covered his ears with his paws and hid behind his arms with a moan.

"Hey..." Taemin called softly.

"'m sorry..."

Taemin stilled. His eyes widened impossibly at the sound of that whisper.

"Oh."

His familiar peeked around his paws to look at him with wary eyes, and Taemin couldn't help but giggle.

"Are you shy?"

The bear cub nodded twice.

"Alright, I won't force you then," Taemin simpered. "I'm just reassured that I didn't forget anything, you know. Like, if I had to do a spell or something... I'm Taemin by the way."

He put his forearms on the sofa, shifting a little closer to the bear and looking at him expectantly. His familiar slowly uncovered his face again and just looked back at him for a while.

"'m Jongin," he mumbled.

"Hi, Jongin," Taemin said. "Welcome home."

He watched as his familiar visibly relaxed in front of him.

Taemin couldn't help but move one of his hands closer, his fingers hovering above Jongin's hind paw. Never before had he felt someone else's magic so strongly. He could almost see it, but he could definitely feel it, tingling and warm against his skin. 

"Sorry for scaring you," Jongin muttered.

"Hmm?"

Jongin sighed and looked down at Taemin's hand. He felt too awkward to look his warlock in the eyes.

"You said I scared you. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

His voice was small and wavering, and Taemin gave him a stiff little smile.

"A friend of mine told me you were probably excited to see me. Were you?"

Jongin nodded softly. His eyes shone as he looked up and with the soft, orange light coming from the fireplace, they seemed golden. The image unnerved Taemin a little. He really was staring at the same being who had haunted him for the past two days.

"I had been waiting so long to be linked to a warlock," Jongin admitted. "I was nervous."

Taemin offered him a more sincere smile.

"You're forgiven. I hope we'll get along well from now on."

Jongin tilted his head with a very soft expression on his face. His eyes creased, and Taemin wondered if he was smiling back at him. Then the bear cub let out a long yawn, and Taemin did his best not to coo.

"Do you want to eat something or would you rather sleep now?"

"I'd like to eat. Please."

Taemin stroked his familiar's head, then stood up to go to his kitchen. He didn't notice Jongin looking up at him and squirming off of the couch to follow him.

"What do you eat?" Taemin asked, rather loudly, turning back to look at the cub.

The sofa was empty, and his eyes widened in surprise until he heard the sound of claws trotting on floor tiles, and he lowered his gaze to see Jongin looking around the kitchen.

"Oh, you're here."

Jongin sat down in the middle of the room and smiled at him.

"I eat everything!" he exclaimed. "I love fish, and I love insects... but if you have berries, that would be awesome. It's impossible to find any in this season, though... Hmm. Any meat is okay too, really. I'm not difficult. Plants are also fine."

Taemin wanted to laugh at the sudden outburst coming from the little spirit. Jongin didn't seem tired anymore. Taemin pushed him towards the table with his foot, and the little cub made a face at him. It looked like a pout.

"Go sit down there; I'll make us something. I might even have frozen berries for you."

Jongin's pout disappeared as quickly as it came, and the bear cub wobbled away to climb up a chair.

"Oh, I also eat demonic essence," he added, matter-of-factly, as if it were the most casual thing to say.

Taemin froze and looked back at him with a frown. 

"Demonic essence? What do you mean?"

"If you have any demon remains, I'd like them."

Jongin tilted his head slightly when he realized Taemin was blinking like an owl, completely bewildered.

"As in... like... if I happen to have a leftover demon foot in my fridge?" Taemin snorted.

"Yes."

This time, Taemin couldn't hold back the laughter that escaped his lips. There was something absolutely hilarious about seeing such a small cub talking about eating demons.

"I'll think about it the next time I slaughter some evil monster," he taunted.

"Thank you."

"Unholy shit, I was joking. I don't go around slicing demons."

"Oh."

Jongin's ears flattened with disappointment, and Taemin sighed.

"There are plenty of evil creatures in the forest for you to hunt and devour, though... if that's your thing."

"Yay!" Jongin beamed, visibly delighted as he clapped his paws together and wiggled on his chair.

Taemin laughed again, a little nervously, and opened his fridge to see what kind of quick dinner he could make them.

He prepared a small bowl of berries for Jongin to eat while he waited as Taemin cooked a couple of vegetables with meat and herbs. It seemed that Jongin's sudden burst of energy had extinguished rather quickly because he ended up yawning several times over his blueberries. By the time Taemin put dinner on the table, Jongin was silent again, his sleepy eyes blinking very slowly as he chewed on his meat.

"It's really good," he still muttered to Taemin. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Jongin was getting food everywhere as he tried to eat with his paws, but it didn't seem to bother him much. They were quiet as they ate, Taemin watching Jongin empty his plate, half by eating and half by inadvertently flinging food to the ground.

When Jongin was finally done making a mess, he rubbed his paws on his eyes and climbed down his chair. Taemin was about to ask if he needed anything else when he realized that his familiar was trying to climb up his chair and onto his lap. He yelped when Jongin's claws pressed into his thighs, and Jongin mumbled a quick apology before he plopped down on Taemin's lap and looked up at him.

"Can we do magic together tomorrow?"

"It would be my pleasure."

Taemin smiled and took a hold of his familiar as he got up. Cleaning could wait a little bit.

He took Jongin back to the living room and sat on the couch with him.

"What's your favorite kind of magic?" Jongin asked, squirming around to get more comfortable on top of his warlock. "What do you like to do, Taemin?"

"I'm a potions master," Taemin said softly as he stroked Jongin's fur slowly. "I'll show you around the house tomorrow. I have a lot of interesting things!"

"Mhmm."

Suddenly, a deep, low sound came from Jongin, and it took Taemin a few seconds to realize that his familiar was purring, in some way.

"I like to try all kinds of things," he continued, "even when making potions, actually. I like to experiment. I'm also interested in spells and herbology, but really, there's nothing like potions, is there?"

He looked down at Jongin with a smile, waiting for a reaction and hoping that his familiar would agree with him, but he found his little bear sound asleep.

"Jongin?" he called softly. "Did you really fall asleep so fast?"

The purring sound coming from his familiar was already fading, and Taemin rolled his eyes.

"You ask questions and don't even listen to my answers. You rude, terrifying little shit."

He slowly lifted Jongin off of his lap, laying the spirit against the couch cushions and tucking him into the blanket.

"Sleep well, tiny demon-eater. We'll talk tomorrow."

Taemin made his way back to the kitchen, cleaning up as quietly as he could before he finally went to sleep. So many things had happened in such a short time; it seemed almost unbelievable to think that he had been sitting in Jongdae's house that very morning, drinking tea.

He fell asleep with a smile, thinking that, in the end, Jongin ended up being even cuter than Jongdae's adorable cat, Minseok.

.

.

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Halloween pfuhuhu~
> 
> I hope you liked this new chapter & you enjoyed meeting little Jonginnie! ♥♥


	3. Welcome home

.

Taemin rolled over as he lay in bed. He felt so comfortable, so rested, so peaceful. His muscles were still a little stiff from the long flights he had made the previous two days, but the warmth and coziness of his blankets helped him loosen up.

He yawned, rather loudly, his throat making a weird noise, before he started stretching his limbs. As he pushed one arm to the right, he felt his hand hit something. It moved against his fingers, and Taemin yelped, sitting up straight and instinctively letting out a blast of magic. He heard a soft cry, then a thud, and before he could collect his thoughts and realize what had happened, he saw a little ball of fur disappear through the open door. It wiggled away rather fast, but Taemin had enough time to catch sight of a round tail. Then he heard the distinct clacking of claws hitting wood as _someone_ went down the stairs, and it hit him.

"Jongin..." he whispered in shock.

Taemin hit his forehead with his palm and pushed his blankets off as he got out of bed. He put his slippers on, wrapped himself in an oversized sweater lying on the floor, and followed his familiar downstairs.

The fire that he had left burning for Jongin was still going and warming up the whole house. It also offered more light than what came through the windows from the dark woods around the house. Taemin moved forward and looked over at the couch to find a blanket balled up on the cushions. Smiling, he shuffled closer and sat next to his little bear of a familiar, who stayed hidden away.

"Hi..."

Taemin gently stroked over what he thought was Jongin's back, and he heard a little hum.

"Did I hurt you? I'm sorry. I didn't expect you to be there... I got surprised."

"'m fine."

Taemin sighed with relief and tried to unwrap his familiar from his protective cocoon so he could look at him. Jongin was pointedly looking at his paws, and Taemin gently rubbed his ears.

"What were you doing in my bed? Did you get cold down here?"

"No," Jongin breathed out. "I woke up in the middle of the night, and I felt lonely. Sorry."

"Oh. I see."

Jongin looked up at Taemin with pleading eyes.

"It felt a little strange being in a new house. But I won't do it again, I promise."

"It's alright, don't you worry. Maybe we could make you a proper bed for tonight, what do you think? We should get you settled here."

"I'd like that."

Taemin smiled brightly and scratched the back of Jongin's head lazily before he got up.

"But first, breakfast!"

Jongin perked up at that and squirmed out of his blanket, falling onto the ground in the process.

"Do you have honey?"

"Yes, I do," Taemin chuckled. "I think I have some left from-..."

Taemin abruptly went silent, much to Jongin's surprise, and rushed to squat in front of his chimney. He blew on the fire slightly, making it visibly diminish, and looked in the small copper cauldron hanging over the flames.

Taemin whined loudly and let himself fall on his butt in disappointment and irritation. He soon heard Jongin approaching him. His familiar stood on his hind paws to peek at his potion and grunted.

"Oh... you messed this one up."

"I know," Taemin retorted bitterly. "It was an extremely sensitive potion... supposed to break a mind control spell. It was Hell to find all of the ingredients and even worse to prepare it. Now it's fucking ruined."

"You needed honey for it?"

Taemin raised an eyebrow at Jongin, who looked at him innocently.

"Yeah... I thought it would camouflage the horrid taste of lizard orchid flowers..."

"Oh, that's pretty smart of you."

"Thanks."

Taemin sighed and looked back at the potion which had turned to rock inside the cauldron. It was black and solid, and Taemin was pretty sure that he wouldn't even be able to save his cauldron. He'd have to buy a new one since the smaller size was so convenient.

What a bother.

"You'll have to be more careful when you redo it. I can help you watch over it if you want. Can we get breakfast now?"

Taemin frowned bitterly and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You do realize that my potion only got ruined because I flew away at the most crucial moment? And I flew away because you scared the shit out of me, appearing like Death itself in my dreams."

Jongin plopped down on his butt, his mouth open, and he had the decency to cower a little under Taemin's stern glare.

"Well," he mumbled, "I didn't know-... and I uh-... I didn't mean to."

Taemin's anger deflated quite rapidly, and he pushed his familiar over, making the bear cub roll to his back with a little cry.

"Ah, what’s done is done. Let's go eat some honey now. We can go to Park's tomorrow or so, to get more ingredients."

"Yay," Jongin cheered as he rolled over on the floor until he was on his paws again.

Taemin got up to head to the kitchen, and he smiled when he heard Jongin's claws clack against the floor behind him. His familiar ate with as much care and cleanliness as he had the evening before and wasn't ashamed in the slightest when he let out a terrific burp after he was done. Jongin pawed his stomach happily, and Taemin briefly thought that living with this little guy promised to be everything but unbearable.

-

Once they were done with breakfast, Taemin proceeded to show Jongin around the house properly. He lived in a fairly small cottage. The largest room was the living room where Jongin had slept half of the previous night. It opened into the kitchen, and then a narrow hallway, hidden behind the stairs to the second floor, lead to the bathroom.

"I already saw that," Jongin shrugged.

It was quite funny to see a bear cub shrug. Taemin couldn't help but smile at the sight.

"You did?"

"Well yeah. I needed to use the toilet during the night, so I just looked around."

"Oh. Alright, then, I'll show you something more interesting."

There was a sparkle of mischief in Taemin's tone, and Jongin immediately looked up with curiosity. Taemin took him back to the living room, maneuvering between the immense bookcases, shelves cluttered with knick-knacks and a few plants, and amulets and animal bones that were hanging from the ceiling. The warlock stopped in front of a very large cabinet that was carved from ebony wood. He picked Jongin up, making the bear cry out, and set him on the windowsill nearby.

"I can climb on my own, you know!"

Taemin looked at him with wide eyes and chuckled.

"Sorry."

Jongin grumbled slightly and rubbed his snout with his paw as he stubbornly avoided Taemin’s gaze.

Taemin rolled his eyes but didn't comment further. Instead, he opened the immense wardrobe to show Jongin all the jars he kept there filled with plants or the various ingredients that he used in his potions.

"If you need anything, feel free to take it. The rarest and most expensive things are on the top shelf, so please be careful with them."

He turned to glance at his familiar and was very satisfied to catch him looking at the collection of ingredients in slight awe.

"There are so many!" Jongin whispered.

Taemin smirked; he began opening little drawers and hidden compartments in order to impress his familiar.

"I like to experiment, so I need a lot of stuff. Everything is carefully labeled so don't mess up my system."

Jongin nodded timidly and climbed from the windowsill to one of the cabinet's shelves so he could take a better look at a few of the jars where squishy, spongy, or sticky things were floating inside various liquids. He tilted his head at the labels awkwardly stuck to them with codes messily written in black ink.

"MORM9½," Jongin read out loud. "What does that even mean?"

"It's a specific kind of Morchella mushrooms that grow around here. They're hallucinogenic. Extremely deadly. Incorrectly prepared, you'll have enough time to realize that you've been poisoned but not enough to prepare an antidote to save yourself."

Jongin blinked a couple of times, then looked up at Taemin and hummed softly.

"I feel like I might need some time to understand how you classify everything."

"Well, you can always ask me."

"Right, of course."

Taemin grinned and tapped Jongin's snout before he turned around and began walking across the room, disappearing between various pieces of furniture.

"Come on, there's more!"

Jongin straightened up and scooted off of the cabinet, trying to reach the ground without landing too hard, before turning to the corner where he could hear Taemin fussing.

"Ah, wait for me! Wait for me!" he whined.

He was suddenly surprised when he saw Taemin's mischievous face appear from behind a bookshelf.

"I thought you could climb quicker on your own," the warlock teased.

Jongin stared at him, repeating what Taemin had just said in an acute, mocking voice as he waddled toward him. It made Taemin burst out in laughter.

He showed Jongin the large trunk where he kept the most powerful and dangerous books he owned and told him never to try opening it. It was locked with a very specific spell that only answered to Taemin's magic, and Jongin would only hurt himself badly if he tried to force it.

Then he took him out to the greenhouse that housed all the plants he tried desperately to grow. But he wasn't as good as Jongdae when it came to botany, and his multiple attempts at growing mandrakes and other venomous plants kept failing.

"I can help you with that," Jongin offered as he took a look around and sniffed a few of the dead plants.

"Can you?"

"I'm quite good with plants. I can take care of the greenhouse if you want."

Taemin frowned. He found it difficult to imagine this small bear who couldn't eat neatly with his clumsy paws taking care of belladonna or sage.

Jongin must have sensed his reluctance because he sighed.

"You know, even if I weren't that good, I still couldn't do worse than you."

Taemin snorted at that and threw him an offended look.

"I was just wondering how you could possibly take care of sensitive flowers with those damn claws and-... oh." Taemin stopped himself mid-sentence. The answer had suddenly occurred to him.

Jongin looked at the ground shyly, and his voice sounded a bit distant when he spoke.

"I have other forms," he mumbled. "When I look... human... then, it's not a problem anymore."

"Right," Taemin said with a sigh. "Sorry... it slipped my mind."

Jongin shrugged. Which was still a funny sight to Taemin.

He tried to picture how Jongin would look in his human form. When would he change? When would he let Taemin see him? It wasn't something to be taken lightly, Taemin knew that. He hoped Jongin would feel comfortable enough to show himself soon.

It was weird to imagine his tiny bear cub as a human, though. And a more important question suddenly came to Taemin's mind.

"Wait a minute... are you a kid?"

"What?" Jongin squawked.

Taemin looked concerned, even worried, and Jongin gasped in incredulity.

"How old are you exactly?"

"I'm not a kid! I'm an adult! All grown-up! I'm probably older than you."

There was silence in response, and Taemin squinted his eyes at Jongin. His familiar looked even more offended.

"'I'm an adult,' says the bear cub while wondering why I don't believe him one bit," Taemin taunted.

Jongin sank to his butt in outrage and crossed his paws over his chest. He realized too late that he wasn't helping his point at all when the smirk on Taemin's face only stretched.

"I'm not a kid," Jongin cried out. "You saw my true spirit form. I'm not a baby! I'm usually much bigger than this in my animal form too."

"Then why do you go around as a cub?" Taemin asked with a roll of his eyes.

Jongin growled at him. It was cute, and Taemin couldn’t stop smiling.

"Because your house is so small, you idiot," Jongin grunted. "When I arrived and saw how tiny your house is, I thought it would be easier to go around like this. If I was in my natural bear form, I would constantly knock everything over!"

Taemin's eyes widened for a second before a cheeky grin bloomed on his lips again.

"Oh, I see."

"Here I was, trying to be polite and considerate, and you're only teasing me."

Taemin laughed out loud, clapping his hands together as he turned around, ready to leave the greenhouse at last.

"Don't sulk, baby bear. It was nice of you to think about not destroying my house."

"I'm not a baby!" Jongin screeched.

Taemin stopped at the door and looked at Jongin over his shoulder with a playful scrunch of his nose.

"Noted, baby bear. And you can be in charge of the greenhouse from now on."

Jongin growled at Taemin again, then sighed when he only heard Taemin's laughter answer him. He looked around the greenhouse once more before he made his way out and joined his warlock in the garden.

-

"So, about your bed," Taemin hummed.

"Yeah?"

They were sitting in the living room after Taemin had finished showing Jongin all the protective spells and amulets around the house. They had taken some time to bind Jongin's magic to the house too so he wouldn't be in danger if he were to stay home alone for any reason. Jongin had been excessively excited to do magic with Taemin, to link their magics and let them mix and meld together. Then he realized that binding his essence to the house only meant that he had to press his paw on the ground while Taemin recited some obscure words in a whisper, and that was it. Very disappointing.

Then, Taemin had made him recite each protection spell that had to be done by the last one to leave the house until Jongin just rolled to his back and whined that he wasn't stupid and he knew all of those spells already, thank you very much. He had received some kind of education before finding Taemin after all.

And then there they were. Taemin had made them some tea and had even added a spoonful of honey to Jongin's bowl.

"What do you want exactly?" Taemin asked.

He was looking at Jongin seriously, for once.

"Huh?"

"The house isn't that big, as you saw. I actually-... I never took the time to plan for when my familiar would come. I'm sorry, but I can't exactly give you your own room. I mean, we could always build one, maybe in the attic, but it would take time."

Taemin seemed a little ashamed to admit this, and Jongin tilted his head, pushing his hind paw gently against his warlock's thigh to show him that he wasn't mad.

"I don't mind... it's alright, Taemin. If I stay in this form, I don't take up much space anyway, right?"

A small smile appeared at the corner of Taemin's lips, and Jongin was pretty sure that his warlock was doing his best not to make another snarky comment about his height.

"Yes, indeed. So you don't mind sleeping in the living room?"

Jongin stayed silent. He was grateful for his bear form because it was more difficult for any non-spirit to read his emotions on his muzzle than it was on his human face. So Taemin didn't see his disappointment.

Jongin nodded, his eyes lowering to his lap.

"Nah, I don't mind."

"Won't it be uncomfortable, though, if you don’t take your usual form… and stay... little?"

Jongin shook his head.

"Not at all, don't worry."

Taemin still looked at him dubiously before he turned toward the sofa.

"If you want to change into your human form to sleep, though, you can take the couch. And I'll try to make plans for turning the attic into a bedroom... It will be really small, and I'll need time to figure everything out, but we could make it work."

"I don't-... uh-... I-..."

Jongin's voice was tiny. It fainted into an inaudible whisper before he could make a proper sentence, and Taemin glanced down at him with a frown.

"What's wrong?"

Jongin didn't dare look him in the eyes. He kept his gaze stubbornly on his paws and sighed.

"I don't know... when I'll be able to shift forms. You know. Like-... My human form. It's quite-... It's intimidating to show myself... like that... to you."

Taemin stayed quiet until Jongin couldn't take it anymore and shyly looked up to find his warlock smiling at him.

"No pressure, baby bear. I know it's a big deal. Take your time, alright? I just meant that if it’s more comfortable for you to sleep that way, you can turn... I can be careful when I come down the stairs to give you privacy."

"I'm not a baby," Jongin growled.

"Yeah, sure."

Taemin scratched the top of Jongin's hair, tousling his fur slightly.

"Thanks, though..." Jongin sighed.

The grin on Taemin's lips widened as he moved his other hand to his familiar’s fur and began rubbing his fingers all over him.

"What are you doing?" Jongin complained.

"You're so soft and fluffy... I want to squish you when you act so cute."

"I haven't done anything!"

Taemin laughed out loud, and Jongin turned around, hiding behind his paws and cursing when he felt Taemin pinch his tail.

"Keep your hand away from my tail, or Satan help me, I will bite it off your arm!"

To Jongin's immense misery, his threat only made Taemin laugh louder.

"No you won't," Taemin snickered. "I'm not a demon you can gnaw on."

"Are you sure about that? I'm starting to have some doubts about your lineage."

Taemin caught Jongin with his hands and pulled him closer, not caring in the least about the way his familiar was trying to break free with little squeals. Taemin held him close, rubbing his face against Jongin's back until the bear cub gave up struggling with a jaded sigh.

"You haven't answered me, baby bear."

"About what?" Jongin grunted.

"Your bed."

Jongin squirmed again until Taemin loosened his hold on him, but then he sat down on his warlock's lap nuzzled his snout under one of Taemin’s hands, silently asking for some gentle petting.

"Do you have anything that I could nest in?"

"Nest?" Taemin repeated, slightly incredulous.

"Yeah... Like a large basket or a hamper, something like that... I could put some cushions inside and my blanket. It would be comfy."

Taemin tilted his head and tapped his index on Jongin's snout, watching his familiar’s eyes cross when he looked at the finger.

"Your blanket?"

"Yeah, that one."

Jongin pointed one claw at the armchair where the blanket Taemin had put him to sleep in the night before laid.

"Oh, so it's _your _blanket now?"

"Yes, it is."

"You're quite something," Taemin smirked.

"Thank you."

Taemin grabbed Jongin by the armpits and stood up suddenly, making his familiar gasp in surprise.

"Alright, I think I have something you might like!"

Before Jongin could snort out any kind of answer, Taemin placed him against his waist, carrying him like a toddler as he made his way to the kitchen with quick steps. He opened a small door that Jongin hadn't even noticed before then and entered a pantry, snapping his fingers to get some light as he looked down.

"You didn't show me this place," Jongin whispered. "Did you really cloak the entrance to the pantry?!"

"I don't want just anyone coming in here and annihilating my jam supply... That includes you."

Jongin growled on principle but didn't answer. It would be a lie to pretend that Taemin was being irrational when Jongin felt his mouth water just at the sight of a jar labeled strawberry jam. Jongin finally broke free from Taemin's hold, climbing down him to look around at all the shelves filled with vegetables and dried food while his warlock moved things around. He jumped to the right when a basket of potatoes that Taemin had shoved landed on his paw, and just as the bear turned to glare at his warlock, he heard him let out a triumphant cry.

"Here it is!"

Taemin sat on his butt and proudly showed Jongin the small wicker basket he was holding. Jongin glowered back.

"That's not even funny," he pouted.

To his surprise, Taemin looked slightly taken aback.

"What do you mean?"

"I won't fit in that!" Jongin complained. "It's too small. I can barely put two paws in there."

Taemin snorted and threw a walnut at him, making Jongin huff and pout more.

"Silly bear. I was going to enlarge it with magic."

"Oh!"

Taemin gave his familiar a teasing smirk as the cub waddled closer and took a proper look at the basket before he nodded.

"Should we do it together, then? Can we?" Jongin asked, his eyes shining with the prospect of finally doing magic with Taemin, even if it was only a simple spell.

"I think I can enlarge a basket on my own, Jongin."

"Yes, but-..." Jongin looked up with pleading eyes, his ears flattening on his head. "Can't we do it together?"

Taemin ultimately realized that Jongin would have jumped on any occasion to do magic with him. It was as simple as that.

"Alright," he conceded with a wink.

Jongin scurried out of the kitchen with a childlike enthusiasm and a happy hum. Taemin took a couple of minutes to rearrange his pantry and cloak it again before he joined his familiar in the living room and found him sitting on the coffee table, rubbing his front paws together.

Taemin sat on the couch, setting the basket down next to Jongin before he tapped his thighs.

"Come here."

Jongin leaned forward, climbing up his warlock and accidentally digging his claws into Taemin's skin, making him hiss.

"Sorry," Jongin mumbled.

Taemin brushed it off and lifted the bear cub to turn him around and make him face the table. Then, he extended his arms on either side of his familiar and opened his palms towards the basket.

"Alright, show me what you got."

Jongin immediately set his two front paws on Taemin's forearms, careful this time not to tear his warlock's skin open with his claws. His eyes turned golden as he breathed out slowly. When he inhaled again, Taemin could feel his magic getting sucked out of him. Jongin absorbed as much as he could; his eyes widened in excitement, and his heart started thundering in his chest. Taemin's magic was so raw, so warm; it felt so good traveling up and down his body, making him shiver and gasp in bliss. Getting a taste of Taemin's magic was exhilarating. It was so different than playing around with other spirits; the core of Taemin's powers felt both familiar and completely new. It fueled Jongin's powers, and he released it all through his paws and Taemin's forearms.

He was almost light-headed, tipsy with Taemin's energy, when he heard his warlock cry out in surprise and start panting. Then Taemin broke free from Jongin's hold and looked down to see the bear cub fall over on his lap.

"Jongin? Are you alright?"

"Mmmhm."

Taemin pursed his lips, frowning down at his familiar.

"What was that? You released way too much!"

"Sorry," Jongin whined with a slow blink of his eyes. "It felt so nice."

Taemin huffed and shook his head, scratching Jongin's chest absentmindedly.

"Look at what you did..."

Jongin turned his head to see that the wicker basket had grown at least three times the size needed. It made him giggle.

"Whoopsie."

"You have no chill."

Jongin rolled over to his stomach and stretched slowly before he looked up at Taemin with an attempt at an apologetic face. But his eyes were still shining brightly, and he didn't sound sorry at all.

"Your magic feels great. I couldn't help myself!"

"Don't make me blush," Taemin taunted, pushing Jongin off of him. "Enough with this nonsense. I'll shrink it on my own."

"But-..." Jongin whined, straightening up on his butt.

Before Jongin could voice a proper complaint, Taemin had extended his arms again and whispered a few words. Jongin stood there, disappointed, brooding a little bit as the basket found itself in the perfect size for him to sleep in.

"There you go," Taemin exclaimed.

He got up and pushed the coffee table a little to the right as he tried to find a spot near the fireplace for Jongin's bed. He moved a couple of plants around, along with a little chest, then turned to grab Jongin's blanket when he noticed his familiar pouting.

"Why are you sulking?"

"I'm not sulking!"

"You're super sulking."

Jongin's pout deepened, and Taemin sighed, moving closer so he could lean his elbows on the couch as he poked the bear cub on his snout.

"You're really sensitive, aren't you?"

"You're mean. It's only natural for a familiar to like his warlock's magic. Didn't you feel it too? Didn't you like it?"

Jongin's sullen tone had slowly grown insecure, and Taemin tried to control his smirk so as to avoid hurting his familiar's feelings any more.

"I did."

"Really?"

"Of course. You're very powerful."

Jongin gave him an unconvinced scowl from the corner of his eyes, and Taemin chuckled.

"I swear I like your magic. But I'd rather do something more exciting than enlarge a basket with you. It felt weird to merge for such a basic spell."

Jongin sniffed and nodded softly. His whole posture relaxed, and Taemin figured he had been forgiven.

"Come on, let's get you some comfy pillows."

Taemin stood up and quickly made his way up the stairs, only to cackle when he heard Jongin whine at him to slow down as he climbed off the couch.

-

They had spent the remainder of the afternoon making accommodations for Jongin around the house, making a list of the things Taemin would need to buy for him in the village outside of the forest and moving around some furniture to make certain things easier for him to access. Taemin had found some spare toiletries for him and then made sure to hide all of his jam jars while his familiar took a shower. Then Jongin happily followed him around as Taemin went outside to feed the crows that always stayed near his house. They carried some logs back from the garden together, and then Taemin did a small inventory of his ingredients to figure out what he needed to get from Park Chanyeol again since he needed to visit his friend anyway. Before Jongin could notice it, the evening had come, and then the night.

He had spent his very first full day with his warlock. And not that he would admit it out loud to the eccentric, annoying man, but Jongin really liked it there. He really liked Taemin's bubbly, slightly insane mind.

"Baby bear?"

Jongin lifted his head from the book he had been busy reading. It was at least as big as the familiar himself, and Jongin had set it against the couch's armrest as he flipped through the pages. It was a very interesting volume of advanced potions.

"Mhmm?"

"You aren't going to complain about that pet name anymore?" Taemin teased, a smirk dancing on his lips.

Jongin sighed as dramatically as he could and lowered his head back to his book.

"Is there any way for me to make you stop using it?"

"Nope."

"Then no; I give up."

Taemin leaned against the kitchen doorframe, crossing his arms over his chest as he pouted.

"Really? Where's the fun in that?"

"Well, you're welcome to stop teasing me if it doesn't entertain you anymore..."

Taemin burst out laughing, and Jongin looked up to see his warlock slapping his thighs in amusement. What a nutcase.

"What did you want, Taemin?"

"I'm done in the kitchen... I'm going to take a walk. You wanna come?"

Jongin squirmed on the couch, pushing himself up with two paws on the book in front of him.

"Oh? At this hour?"

"It's only 2 am."

Jongin was about to argue that that was exactly what he meant by 'at this hour?' because 2 am was late for most people, but then he remembered who he was dealing with. One day with Taemin had been enough for him to understand that his warlock didn't always make a lot of sense.

"Isn't it dangerous... outside... during the night?"

Taemin's eyes shone with mischief as he came closer to scratch his familiar's head.

"Well, it’s a good thing I'm a powerful warlock going out with a demon-eater then, right?"

Taemin went to the front door and wrapped himself in a long scarf, a large black coat, and an immense hat before he looked back at his familiar.

"Are you coming to protect me or not?"

Jongin looked back at his book, sighed and, without a word, closed it and made his way over to the door.

"I can't let you go alone," he mumbled. "Something might happen to you."

"Exactly," Taemin simpered. "After all, it's not like I’ve been living here alone for the last decade..."

Jongin made his way down to the garden, waddling on the few porch steps as Taemin locked up behind them. When the warlock turned around, he gasped. Jongin had shifted into a fully grown bear, far larger than Taemin, and was stretching his limbs with a grunt.

"I get what you meant when you said you'd knock over everything in the house in this form..."

Jongin only snorted and rose his snout.

"I am, indeed, an adult."

Taemin moved closer, inspecting his new form; he extended his hand to pet him but stopped himself before he could touch his familiar.

"May I-...?"

"Since when do you ask? Just a few hours ago you were forcing me into hugs..."

Taemin giggled and ran both his hands through Jongin's fur, scratching his back.

"I don't know. I feel timid now. You look big enough to kill me if I'm too annoying."

Jongin pressed his big head against Taemin's ribs with a whine.

"Even in my cub form, I'm very dangerous you know. I still have just as much power."

"Maybe, but you don't look even remotely scary."

"Would you stop offending me for even one minute?"

Taemin laughed again, louder, before he gave Jongin a sheepish grin.

"Sorry."

He didn't sound sorry, but Jongin didn't push. He simply followed his warlock quietly as they left the garden and started walking through the trees. The crescent moon on that winter night didn't give them much light. It was difficult to see where they put their feet, but Taemin seemed to know where he was going.

"I wouldn't hurt you anyway," Jongin suddenly whispered.

Taemin glanced at him with a soft smile.

"Even if I'm extremely irritating?"

"You're not that bad," Jongin mumbled.

Taemin's chuckle resonated around them.

"I just want you to know...," Jongin said, still so soft. "I would never hurt you. Ever."

Taemin shifted closer and brushed his hand through Jongin's fur again.

"I know," he said, and his voice was gentle. "A friend of mine told me that familiars can't hurt their warlocks."

"It's true."

"I would never hurt you either… not on purpose, at least. You know… I'm not used to living with someone. I might seem a little off sometimes. So please tell me if I ever cross a line, okay?"

"Okay."

Taemin guided them deeper into the forest, following a trail only he knew. The slight, feeble glow of the moon could barely make it through the dense trees around them, even though they had lost all of their foliage because of the season. They heard an acute, ominous cackle erupt through the silence from somewhere not too far from them. Taemin didn't flinch. Jongin only turned his head toward the noise, trying to pinpoint if whatever made it was coming closer.

"Say, Jongin..."

"Yes?"

"Why didn't you turn into your spirit form? Isn't it the most comfortable for you or something...? You have enough space here, right?"

Jongin sniffed, moving closer to Taemin as they walked down a small hill. He heard strange whispers in the wind, but he had no idea where they came from. He couldn't distinguish what they were saying.

"You said I scared you..." Jongin answered. "I don't want to scare you."

Taemin stopped walking to stare at his familiar. It took Jongin a couple of seconds to realize Taemin had stilled, and he turned around in surprise.

"Are you okay?"

"That's sweet of you."

"Well, I am a very sweet spirit, in case you haven’t noticed. Besides, I can turn in less than a second if I need to..."

Taemin giggled and hurried back to Jongin with a grin. They continued on the path but soon stopped again in front of a tree that seemed quite common to the large bear.

"We've arrived."

Taemin squatted down and began brushing away the dirt around the roots of the tree as if he were searching for something.

"What are you looking for?" Jongin asked.

Taemin didn't answer him. He just kept rummaging through the twigs and pebbles until he finally let out a little shout of victory. He felt something on his thigh and looked down to see Jongin's head peeking out to look at what he found. His familiar had turned back to his bear cub form.

"What is it?"

Taemin gathered the three fragile white little flowers he had found, as delicately as he could, before he held them in front of Jongin's snout.

"Don't you know these?"

"They look like grape hyacinths..."

"Almost," Taemin chuckled. "They're a lot rarer. Another variety of hyacinths, actually. Very sensitive flowers... ideal for mental confusion and amnesia potions."

Jongin got up on his hind paws to get a better look at them before he glanced at his warlock.

"Do you need to gather them at a certain time? On a certain day? Is that why we're out so late?"

Taemin blinked and shook his head with a playful scrunch of his nose.

"Is it late? Is two in the morning late? I can get these flowers at any time... I just thought 'why not now?' you know..."

Jongin sighed and then began climbing up Taemin.

"It is late. I'm tired. You made me come out here in the middle of the night for nothing... So you should carry me back home."

"Hey, I never forced you to come. I asked you if you wanted to, and you decided to join of your own free will," Taemin protested.

Still, he put his flowers in the safety of his coat pocket and picked up his bear cub to hold him tight against his chest.

"Yes," Jongin retorted, "because I was worried about you. I’m supposed to protect you."

"Yet here you are, enjoying a free ride."

"Shut up. If anything attacks you, I'll eat it," Jongin sighed as he snuggled closer to his warlock.

Taemin smirked and shook his head slowly. Without further comment, he turned around and slowly made his way back home. He soon heard a low, soft purr coming from his familiar, and it vibrated through his own chest. He ran his fingers through Jongin's fur, gently scratching his back.

As he looked down at him, Taemin thought that he could get used to their ridiculous, playful squabbles. He wasn't as scared of sharing his house, his daily life, his magic, if it was with Jongin. He wasn't really that inclined to make compromises, to be around people, to have to make the effort to control himself and be decent; he never liked having to listen to others or to be obedient to anyone. And so far, Jongin hadn't asked any of that from him. So maybe... maybe it would be okay. Maybe they could truly get along. Maybe that was the whole point of getting his soul linked to a familiar chosen for him.

When they finally made it back home, Taemin lowered the flames still roaring in the fireplace with a soft move of his hand and knelt in front of Jongin's basket.

"Baby bear? Are you asleep already?"

Jongin stirred in his arms, yawned in his face, and blinked himself awake.

"No."

Taemin smiled at him and patted his head.

"You should go to bed, little one."

Jongin looked around and sighed in such a theatrical way that Taemin frowned.

"Oh," Jongin murmured. "Yes... here..."

He slowly crawled down from Taemin's lap and into his nest before he fumbled with his blanket and turned to glance at his warlock with sad, pleading eyes.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes," Jongin sighed dramatically. "Yes, I will sleep... Goodnight, Taemin."

Taemin opened his mouth to say something, but Jongin had already turned away and plopped down on his cushions with the saddest exhale possible.

"Alright," Taemin whispered. "Goodnight, Jongin."

He got up, still looking at his familiar who was staring at the fire with all the misery in the world written on his face, and wondered what he could have done wrong. Then he shook his head, thinking that Jongin was probably tired. Yeah, he was just tired. Nothing to worry about.

Taemin turned on his heels and disappeared to the other side of the living room to put away the hyacinths he had collected earlier. It was only when he closed the small jar with the three flowers inside that it dawned on him. Quickly going back to his familiar, he looked at the somber form with a frown.

"Jongin?"

The bear cub slowly turned his head toward him.

"Yes?"

"Did you want to sleep with me or-...?"

Before Taemin could even finish his sentence, his familiar sat up in his basket, quick as light, and squealed excitedly.

"Yay!"

Jongin was so eager to leave his nest that he almost tossed his blanket into the fire as he jumped out and ran to the stairs to climb them hastily.

"Woah woah woah!" Taemin cried out, running after him and glaring at him from the bottom of the stairs.

Jongin froze, one paw still in the air, and turned back to glance at his warlock in bewilderment.

"What's wrong?"

"I asked you _if _you wanted to sleep with me... I never said you _could_."

Jongin's face fell, and he let out another sorrowful sigh, sitting on the stairs with his head low.

"Oh..."

"By all the devils in Hell, you sure are clingy."

Jongin pouted. He pouted so hard that Taemin could see it on his bear face.

"I'm sorry. I just don't like sleeping alone..."

Slowly, Jongin let himself fall down each step of the stairs, looking up at his warlock with those pleading eyes again.

"For fuck’s sake, fine. Stop looking at me with those puppy eyes."

Jongin stopped, his butt still half on a step, half in the void as his face turned hopeful.

"Fine? You mean-...?"

"You better not hog the fucking blankets, or I'll kick you back to your damn basket."

Jongin switched from miserable to happy in less than a second again and quickly climbed back up the stairs with joyful little squeals.

"I promise! You won't even notice me! Thank you, Taemin-ah!"

"Yeah, yeah. Just get to bed. I'll be there in a minute."

Taemin watched as his bear cub disappeared down the narrow hallway on the second floor, and he groaned softly.

"Satan's horns, what am I doing? I know I'm going to regret this one day."

Taemin turned back around and knelt down next to Jongin's basket. He carefully folded the blanket then put out the fire. He whispered a spell to protect the house as they slept and went up the stairs with a last sweep of his hand to extinguish all the candles downstairs.

When he made it to his bedroom, he saw a little ball of fur curled up on the edge of his bed. Jongin had tried to make himself as small as he possibly could, resting his head on one of the pillows and facing the window, which still showed a sliver of the moon. Taemin went to his closet in silence, changing into the oversized shirt he liked to wear as pajamas before he climbed onto bed, lying right in the middle.

"Goodnight, Taemin," Jongin murmured.

Taemin sniffed but smiled.

"Goodnight, baby bear."

Jongin let out a little sound that even Taemin couldn't deny was cute and closed his eyes.

He was already sleeping soundly by the time Taemin pulled him close and held him against his chest like a teddy bear as he fell asleep.

.

.

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ♥
> 
> thank you for reading


	4. You've got a friend in me

.

"Taemin?"

The warlock turned around and glanced at the bear cub who sat on the floor with his head tilted toward the living room's frost-covered window.

"Yeah?"

"What is that?"

Taemin frowned and moved closer, trying to figure out the cause of Jongin's curiosity. There was nothing outside, not that Jongin would have been able to see the garden from his spot on the floor anyway. Instead, Taemin's eyes fell on Kolya, his Venus flytrap plant, probably the only plant that he had managed to keep alive despite it being one of the hardest to take care of, and he smiled.

"It's a carnivorous plant," Taemin explained, scrunching up his nose at his familiar who scowled in response.

Jongin hit him on the leg with one paw, making the warlock cry out in surprise.

"I know about carnivorous plants," Jongin grunted. "Stop offending me."

"Alright, alright. Then what were you even talking about?"

Jongin sighed dramatically before climbing up a stool that sat under the window. He stood on the far edge of it, bending to try to reach the windowsill under Taemin's prying eyes, and he would have fallen if it hadn't been for his warlock's helping hand.

"Careful, baby bear."

"Thanks," Jongin muttered as he used Taemin's arm to reach the windowsill.

Jongin squirmed on to the ledge and finally pointed his snout at the mug he had seen lying there for the past three days he had been with his warlock. For three days he had passed the windowsill and wondered why that mug was there; for three days he had wanted to ask Taemin if there was any reason for it but kept forgetting because his warlock always had something important to do or something interesting to say and the mysterious mug quickly left Jongin's mind.

He had quickly come to realize that Taemin had reasons for everything. The reasons weren’t always good or built with good intentions or designed for good projects, but there was indeed a rational explanation as to why sage was hanging in the living room (to cleanse the house of bad thoughts) and why some books were scattered across the room instead of being ordered on the bookshelves (because they kept quarreling with the other books and Taemin was tired of picking his volumes about botany up because the dark spells had kicked them out of the shelves). Jongin could go on like that for a while. He had discovered a lot of Taemin's little quirks and secrets since he had arrived. Taemin kept his left shoes and his right shoes in two different places because he usually liked to put on his left boot while he was near the stairs, but by the time it was on, Taemin was already at the door, and thus, it was easier to have his right boot in that spot rather than going back to fetch it by the staircase. Some pretty basic logic, really, if you asked Taemin.

Therefore, Jongin had been wondering why there was a mug on the windowsill, which hadn't moved at all since his arrival. But as he leaned closer, his snout caught the peculiar smell of cold black tea, and his shoulders slumped in disappointment.

"You forgot your tea..." he whined petulantly.

Taemin immediately snorted and huffed in such a way that Jongin looked up with interest. He must have been very wrong, which would prompt an explanation from his warlock, and for some reason, Jongin was quite eager to learn about another peculiar thing that Taemin liked to do. It was entertaining, to say the least, but mostly endearing to Jongin because it made his warlock very special, very unique. 

"I didn't," Taemin grumbled. "It’s an offering; you of all people should see that."

Jongin stilled, blinked, looked back at the mug, and finally grunted.

"What?"

"An offering," Taemin repeated as if it was the most obvious thing ever, "for any kind of spirit passing by... I read it in a book. They can even leave you something in exchange, as thanks."

Taemin tilted his head at his familiar who was keeping silent. Jongin just stared at him without moving, without any recognizable expression on his face, until Taemin started to feel uncomfortable for some reason he couldn't pinpoint.

"Why are you so quiet?" he finally asked with a wince.

"Oh dummy," Jongin sighed. "You’re sweet, but you’re not very bright."

"Hey! Where's that coming from?"

Jongin let out a long, dramatic sigh and pushed the mug away from him as if the cold drink were personally offending him.

"That's not the way to leave an offering... Haven't you realized that nobody drank it? That you didn't get anything in exchange?" he sighed once again and glanced at the warlock who was blushing in front of him. "Would _you_ pass by a house, see a forgotten drink behind a closed window, and think to yourself 'Oh, this looks quite friendly; I should break in and have a seat to enjoy this cold horror and then leave a blessing to show my gratitude!'? Would you, Taemin-ah? _Would you?_"

There was an extended silence between them again as Taemin went from slightly pink to carmine; then the warlock coughed.

"For fuck’s sake, no need to be condescending," Taemin muttered.

And for a moment, Jongin forgot where he was going with his remonstrances because that was the first time he had witnessed Taemin looking flustered, and it was quite a sight.

Taemin quickly grabbed the mug, held it tight in both hands, and lowered his gaze to the floor. He looked like a reprimanded child.

"What am I supposed to do, then, Mister Know-It-All?"

"Well," Jongin simpered with a tone of self-importance, "First, in this season, you should leave a warm drink. You can either use a spell for it to stay warm or change it regularly if you see it hasn't been drunk yet."

Taemin was still pouting, but he nodded softly.

"Then," Jongin kept going, "you should leave it somewhere accessible. And by that, I mean outside or by an open window. Spirits have manners, you know... or at least, the kind of spirits you want to get blessings from do. Then, you just have to make sure it’s clear that the cup is free to drink, obviously. So, you shouldn't leave it next to a carnivorous plant that wouldn’t be very friendly to little folk."

"Little folk?" Taemin repeated, blinking in confusion.

"Pixies, fairies... They're _little_," Jongin shrugged. "If I was 5 centimeters tall or less, I wouldn't want to approach a plant that might bite my ass."

Taemin now only nodded in acknowledgment, drinking in Jongin's knowledge while his familiar shuffled around with big gestures as if it would make his point clearer.

"So, you need to leave something to show that it is free to drink. We don't go around stealing people's tea, you know. And what you leave depends on who you're offering it to."

"Wait a minute," Taemin suddenly stopped him.

Taemin didn't pay too much attention to Jongin's pout and went away for a second to take his old mug to the kitchen. He then scurried around his living room for a moment and finally came back to Jongin with a little book and a quill.

"I need to take notes," Taemin said, and Jongin, who was still grumpy for being rudely interrupted in the middle of his explanation, brightened visibly. "Please, go on."

"As I was saying," Jongin went on, puffing out his chest, "you should leave different little marks of attention depending on whom you want to come by. It will also keep the evil spirits away. So, you put your warm cup of tea by the window, and you can leave some twig next to it. Lavender will make any kind spirit feel safe or some pine branches, easier to find in this season. The little folk are particularly fond of mint and nettle, so you can use that for them. Cedar branches and bay leaves will attract ethereal entities but also sylphs... though I don't think there would be any in our forest. Don't use basilic because it might attract some nasty creatures that I'm not even sure I'd want to eat to save your ass. That's it, I think."

Taemin was still frantically writing by the time Jongin stopped talking, and the little familiar used the window to pull himself up and waddled over to his warlock.

"Have you written everything?" he asked as he tried to peek at Taemin's notes. "About the basilic? And the pine branches?"

Taemin hid his notes behind his back and grinned at his familiar before he brought his quill to Jongin's snout to tickle him.

"I did!" he exclaimed happily as Jongin tried to fight the quill away from his face. "Thank you very much, baby bear."

"You're welcome," Jongin grunted as he rubbed his nose.

"I have such a wise, erudite familiar," Taemin beamed. "Lucky me."

"Are you being kind or sarcastic?" Jongin asked with a pout. "I can't tell."

Taemin burst in laughter and hopped away to put his notebook back on his desk.

"I wasn't being sarcastic, I promise..." Taemin looked over his shoulder, back at Jongin who was slowly making his way down the windowsill. The familiar stopped himself when he realized the silence that had fallen between them and turned to see his warlock look at him with a sheepish smile and a fond look in his eyes. "It's nice that you know so much. I'm grateful."

Jongin was slightly taken aback by Taemin's sudden praise, but before he could dwell more on his warlock's unexpected kindness, Taemin jumped around the house once more, grabbing a shoe here and a bag there.

"Now," he chirped with an excited grin on his face, "let's go!"

"Where?" Jongin asked with a confused frown.

"To see Park Chanyeol," Taemin said as he put on one boot and draped himself in his cottony cape.

The familiar wiggled on the ground, turning around in turmoil.

"Ah? Is it far away? Are we going now? I'm not ready! Why are we-... ah, it's for the potion, right? Couldn't you have told me sooner though? What should I do?"

Taemin tilted his head, looking down at the bear cub who was turning in circles on the ground, and bent down to pick him up.

"Come here, baby bear. Why would you need to know about it sooner? Did you have plans for the day?"

His teasing tone wasn't to Jongin's liking, and the familiar really wished he had something to retort, but alas, he didn't have any plans to spit at the warlock's face. How bothersome.

"It would have been polite not to tell me at the last minute."

"Alright, I'll think about that next time," Taemin answered with a tone that let Jongin know that he was lying through his teeth.

Jongin sighed as his warlock started scratching him behind his ears as a soft apology.

"Now," Taemin continued, "how should we travel?"

"Hm? What do you mean?" Jongin asked, craning his neck back to look at Taemin.

"It's a long flight to Chanyeol's place... How can we both comfortably fit on my broom? Would you fit in a bag?" Taemin mused, a pout on his lips.

Jongin grunted and hit him on the chest in annoyance.

"I don't want to be swinging in the air in a bloody bag, what the hell!"

"Do you have a better idea?" Taemin taunted. "Can you actually ride the broom without falling?"

Jongin grumbled and snuggled closer to Taemin's chest to hide his face.

"I could stay like this," he muttered. "I'll cling to you."

Taemin made a little cooing sound that earned him another hit on the chest.

"That's cute, baby bear... But I don't want you planting your claws in my ribs to stay put," he said and pulled Jongin onto the couch before his familiar could react or reply. "I have an idea, wait here."

Taemin hopped out of his shoes and dashed up the stairs with loud steps. Jongin heard him rummage around their bedroom until he heard a triumphant shout followed by a door being slammed. When Taemin appeared back in front of him, the warlock was holding a very large, thick dark fabric in his hands and looked at his familiar with a grin so large that Jongin felt fear invade him. He wasn't sure that he would like whatever crazy plan Taemin had come up with.

"Come here," Taemin called, trying to grab his familiar with one hand.

Jongin squirmed away and squinted his eyes at him in mistrust.

"What are you going to do to me?"

"I decided to make you happy, ungrateful brat," Taemin huffed.

Jongin was quiet for a few more seconds, his eyes traveling up and down Taemin as if trying to gauge if he could put his trust in the warlock. Taemin let out a long, dramatic sigh.

"I'll use the scarf to tie you up so you won't have to cling to me and hurt me... Would you rather be against my chest or on my back?"

Jongin immediately straightened up and finally moved closer with a little coo.

"Against your chest," he said without even thinking about it.

Taemin chuckled, but Jongin chose to pretend he didn't hear him as the warlock cradled him in his arms and pressed him against his torso. Taemin snapped his fingers, murmured a spell, and Jongin watched the scarf rise in the air to wrap around them tightly, keeping him in place. Taemin tied the ends of his scarf around his neck and looked down at the bear cub who was wiggling against him.

"So, what do you think?"

Jongin turned around to face the chimney, then back to press his snout on Taemin's chest, and finally looked up to him.

"Perfect," Jongin said. "It's comfy. We may go."

Taemin snorted but didn't retort. Instead, he went to the door, asked his shoes to find his feet by wiggling his fingers, draped his cloak over his shoulders, and closed it around Jongin.

"Where does Park Chanyeol live?" Jongin asked as he squirmed around again to take his snout out of the scarf.

"In another forest, in the South. It's only a couple of hours away."

Taemin locked the door behind them and held out his hand as he summoned his broom which flew right to him from behind the house. With the little airflow that it made, Taemin barely heard Jongin's little whine.

"A couple of hours?" he grunted. "Bother. And I'll have nothing to eat."

Without a word, Taemin looked into his bag -which was somewhat difficult considering the weight pressing against his torso that limited his movements- and tapped Jongin's head with a little something that he then dropped in his familiar's paws.

Jongin jumped and looked down, ready to complain, but was cut short when he saw a tiny bag filled with berries.

"Oh," he gasped.

Taemin smiled at him and straddled his broom.

"Thank you, Taemin-ah."

Taemin tapped his right foot on the ground, and they flew off in a burst of mist that made Jongin widen his eyes.

The bear cub was looking at the sky in awe, the wind running through the fur on the top of his head made him shiver and snuggle closer to Taemin. He couldn't help but squeal excitedly as he looked around and spotted a crow flying nearby.

When they were high enough in the air, hovering above the forest at a reasonable speed, Taemin relaxed into a more comfortable position and glanced down to Jongin who kept trying to look everywhere at once.

"Is this your first time flying, baby bear?"

"Yes!" Jongin exclaimed, craning his neck backward to look at his warlock. "Bears don't fly, you know."

Taemin laughed loudly.

"What do you think?"

"Scary," Jongin answered happily.

Taemin's look toward him softened enough for Jongin to wonder if he had said something strange. Taemin brought his hand to his familiar's head and scratched him behind the ears.

"That's what I said the first time I flew, too," Taemin said fondly.

He remembered the look of utter confusion on his mother's and aunt's faces when, at barely 6, he had excitedly told them that flying was terrifying and thus, he wanted to keep going.

Jongin smiled back at him softly.

"Can we go faster?" Jongin asked.

"Hold on tight!"

Taemin smirked and wiggled his eyebrows as he tightened his hold on his broomstick and sped up. He saw two berries escape the tight nest Jongin was still in, flying and disappearing behind them, but his familiar didn't seem to mind too much if the delighted squeal he let out was any indication.

The forest where Park Chanyeol lived was quite different than Taemin's dark and gloomy, haunted home. It was brighter, clearer, and had much smaller trees. Even if Taemin could have accepted living in such a place in winter when nature was sleeping and the snow covered everything anyway, he couldn't imagine having to wake up in such a place during the rest of the year. There was too much sun, too many colors, and too many animals; nothing felt right.

When they landed and Taemin got off his broom, Jongin straightened up in his little nest, pawing at the scarf to get a better look at his surroundings. Almost immediately, he frowned.

"Hmm," he muttered, "there must not be much to eat around here. No places for demons to lurk in."

Taemin snorted, taking a moment to look around and remember how to get to Chanyeol's place before he began walking.

"Do you like our forest better?"

"Yes, of course!"

"I'm glad then," Taemin said softly, almost absent-mindedly. "After all, you came to live there with me without a choice in the matter... I'm relieved that it's to your liking."

Jongin opened his mouth to say something, to tell Taemin that they hadn't been linked by accident, that it made sense for a reason, but it was a little difficult to say and his warlock changed the subject before the familiar knew how to voice his thoughts.

"So, are you gonna walk or do I have to keep carrying you around like a spoiled brat?"

Jongin curled up in the scarf and rested his head against Taemin's chest.

"Carry me!"

"Fuck you," Taemin cursed with a smirk and a roll of his eyes, not bothering to continue tying to convince Jongin to get off him.

The forest around them was silent with no ominous cackles to be heard nor any loud footsteps behind them. At some point, little balls of blue fire began to pop up along the path but disappeared as soon as they passed them. It was a very adorable spell meant to guide guests to Chanyeol's house, something totally unsurprising coming from the hoarder warlock.

Taemin climbed up a small hill and crossed a frozen river on a large wooden bridge while listening to Jongin hum softly to himself as he ate his berries.

"We have arrived," Taemin said with a little pat on Jongin's head.

It made the bear cub drop a raspberry, which made him wiggle around in the nest of Taemin's scarf to try to get it back.

"Bother," Jongin grunted.

"We're going to meet one of my friends," Taemin said. "Please behave."

Taemin felt his familiar freeze against his chest, then a paw hit him.

"I always behave! I'm a very polite spirit! You're the one always being so obnoxious!"

"Language, Jongin. Language."

Jongin grunted, straighting up as much as he could to frown at Taemin who was looking at him with reproach in his eyes.

"What? I didn’t say anything bad! Besides, your friend wouldn't understand me even if I did swear."

Jongin looked so pissed that Taemin couldn't hold it back anymore and started cackling. That's when Jongin realized he had been played.

"You're a dick," he muttered.

"You're so cute when you get worked up," Taemin explained with a snort.

"I hate you."

"Now, now, let's not say things we will regret later, baby bear."

Taemin bent his head down enough to force Jongin into a hug and pressed his face against his familiar's neck while holding him through the scarf to keep him from squirming away.

"By all that is unholy," Jongin sighed, "you're so annoying."

Taemin laughed and finally let go of him to take the last steps to Chanyeol's house. When he knocked on the door, he felt Jongin cowering slightly in his cocoon as if he were trying to hide from view.

There was more than one reason why Taemin had chosen to go to Chanyeol's place that day. First and foremost, he needed some ingredients to redo the complicated potion that had gone to waste on the day he met Jongin. But Chanyeol was also one of the friendliest warlocks he knew, easy to talk to, easy to like. Chanyeol was kind and patient, a little overwhelming at times but truly gentle. He was also easily distracted and wouldn't make an endless fuss over Jongin's presence. Therefore, he was the perfect choice for the first warlock to introduce Jongin to.

Even if Jongin hadn't voiced concern about someday meeting Taemin's friends and acquaintances by then, Taemin would always remember the shyness of his familiar when he had found him hidden in the wood pile in his shed. Jongin wasn't used to being around warlocks, or even humans in general. And it was Taemin's duty to protect him, after all. So he didn't comment on how Jongin made himself as tiny as possible in his protective scarf and, instead, wrapped his arms around the bear cub to give him comfort.

"Chanyeol is very funny," Taemin said softly. "I'm sure you'll like him."

Before Jongin could answer, the door opened widely, slamming against the wall, and a very tall man stood before them. Jongin thought that his dark curly hair looked like a crow’s nest on top of his head.

"Oh, Lee Taemin! Hi!" Chanyeol exclaimed, his face splitting into the largest grin Jongin had ever seen.

It looked almost creepy.

"Good afternoon."

"What are you doing here? I didn't expect to see you again so soon!"

"My last visit was three months ago, Park," Taemin snorted.

Chanyeol let out a surprised hum and scratched his head.

"Oh really? That long already?"

"Yes, I assure you," Taemin smirked.

"Ah, anyway, welcome! Please come in," Chanyeol hurried to say.

He moved away from the entrance to allow Taemin to enter his home, and Jongin couldn't keep in the exclamation of surprise that escaped his mouth.

The door opened to a very large, round living-room with many windows and even more pieces of furniture. There were tables, shelves, and cabinets everywhere, all cluttered and filled to the brim with various types of peculiar objects. Jongin honestly couldn't tell if Chanyeol had tried to order his things somehow but got overwhelmed by how many knick-knacks he had, or if everything had just been carelessly thrown around. There were plants sprouting between armchairs, even more things hanging from the ceiling than at Taemin's, stacks of books forming fragile towers, a bicycle in the middle of a doorway, and, most peculiarly, branches of wood going all around the room, connecting different pieces of furniture. The spirit couldn't understand how such a mess still managed to seem so homey. There must have been some magic trick going on.

"What do you have here?" Chanyeol asked while peeking into Jongin's cocoon, and Taemin felt his bear cub still.

"My familiar," he said, tightening the protective hold he had around Jongin.

Chanyeol's eyes snapped to Taemin's face, and he broke into another smile, clapping his hands together excitedly.

"Oh, he’s arrived? That's so cool! I'm so happy for you. You must be so excited."

"Well, yes I am..."

"It's great, isn't it? Doing magic with them I mean. By the way, have you met Baekhyunnie yet? I don't think you have... He must be around here somewhere... How is your familiar? Can I say hi?"

Taemin laughed, not even answering Chanyeol as he looked down at Jongin who was staring at him with wide eyes.

"Are you okay, baby bear?" Taemin asked.

"Yeah," Jongin said softly, but all Chanyeol heard was a little coo.

"Do you wanna say hi?"

Jongin could tell that Taemin was trying his best not to tease him, and he was grateful for the effort.

"I suppose I can," Jongin sighed before he straightened up and finally brought his head out of his nest to look at Chanyeol who was staring at him with a grin. "Hello."

"So cute!"

"His name is Jongin," Taemin said with a strange sort of pride.

"I'm delighted to meet you, Jongin," Chanyeol said.

He waved gently at the familiar who sniffed him from afar and then turned around to hide against Taemin again.

"He's still a bit shy," Taemin explained, rubbing Jongin's back. "You're the first warlock he’s met beside me."

"I see. That’s alright. I won't bother him, then," Chanyeol hummed. "Now, did you come here for something special? What do you need? Something rare? Something dangerous?"

And just as Taemin had expected, Chanyeol's attention went elsewhere, allowing Jongin to relax and sigh in relief.

"Yes actually. I need some ingredients. I have a list."

Chanyeol was beaming with excitement, going through Taemin's list as soon as it was held out to him, squeaking and squealing as he read it. He made little comments under his breath, incomprehensible to his two guests, and immediately started to move around his house with Taemin following him to another room. It might have been an office, Jongin thought, but it looked more like an extension of the living-room. It was cluttered from the floor to the ceiling in such a way that the bear cub was positive that if he were to get lost in there, he would never find his way out.

And it was right as Jongin was deep in those disturbing thoughts that Taemin looked down to him and sighed.

"Baby bear, don't get offended, but you're heavy. Do you mind walking on your own?"

Jongin whined, looking up to Taemin with a pout and pleading eyes, but before he could start bargaining and begging, Chanyeol answered.

"Ah, he could stay with Baekhyun while we take care of all of the things you need. Where is he by the way? Yah, Baekhyunnie?! I swear, this familiar, where did he go this time?"

Taemin reached into his scarf to grab his familiar who squirmed and fussed.

"But Taemin-..."

"If you want me to carry you back home, you need to let my back rest."

Taemin brought him to the ground and chuckled when he saw the grim look Jongin was giving him.

"Come on, don't look at me like that."

"So, Taemin-ah..." Chanyeol exclaimed, taking large steps towards the very large bookshelves at the back of the room near the windows. "You need goblin's claws again? You do realize that they're pretty difficult to find, right?"

Jongin sat there, dumbfounded, and watched his warlock straighten up and follow his friend, completely forgetting about his familiar. Taemin sighed and explained to Chanyeol about how the potion had, unfortunately, been ruined by Jongin's arrival. They moved fast, climbing over tools and boxes on the ground, and soon disappeared behind some stairs, their voices growing faint as they got further away.

Jongin was frozen. He couldn't believe that Taemin would just dump him like this. Or maybe, deep down, he could believe it since Taemin was notoriously rude, but it still stung his heart.

"Yo."

Jongin jumped, screeching and turning around quickly when he heard a voice right next to him that soon erupted into waves of laughter.

"Sorry, 'didn't mean to frighten you!" came from a small red squirrel standing before him.

"I wasn't frightened," Jongin pouted, his heart still beating far too quickly. "I was simply _surprised_."

"Yeah," the squirrel snorted. "If you say so."

Jongin squinted and eyed the familiar in front of him up and down.

"You must be Baekhyun," he said.

"That's me. And who are you?"

"I'm Jongin. My warlock came to see yours to buy some stuff for his potions."

Baekhyun straightened up, shaking his head in quick little movements, and approached Jongin, sniffing him before he started to run in circles around the bear.

"What are you doing?" Jongin complained.

"Just lookin'..." Baekhyun said.

He moved his head closer to Jongin's until their noses touched, then he disappeared just as quickly, running in little bounces between the various objects scattered on the floor.

As he watched the squirrel familiar climb and jump everywhere, Jongin thought that the chaos all around might just be the best playground for him.

"Hey, Jongin, wanna do something together while you wait?"

"I don't know. I don't think they'll be that long," Jongin said, hoping that Taemin would hurry up because he found Baekhyun exhausting just to look at.

Baekhyun laughed at that and quickly came back to him.

"I wouldn't count on it. If your warlock came for something specific, it's gonna take a while for Channie to find it. He ain't that great with tidying up."

"Or so I've noticed," Jongin snorted. "How can customers get around in this mess?"

Baekhyun tilted his head and sniffed a couple of times.

"Well, this ain't a store."

"It's not?" Jongin asked, clearly confused.

Baekhyun hummed, and Jongin took a look around himself.

"Then what the fricking hell is this mess?"

"Channie is a Collector. If you want something, you just have to ask him. He doesn't exactly sell his things. He gives them to his friends…or trades them."

"What's a Collector?"

Baekhyun straightened up and bombed his chest with pride.

"There aren't very many Collector warlocks, is there? My warlock is quite exceptional. We travel a lot, and he collects things that he finds. He accumulates all sorts of things, common and rare. Weapons, plants, books, body parts of creatures... he picks everything up, gathers them here, and people come to him when they need something. Channie has a lot of treasures, you know. Things he didn't even know the value of before I told him... But it's alright, now. I'm here to help. I'm pretty sure that whatever you might need, we have it."

Jongin hummed and shrugged, looking around.

"Yeah, alright. He's a hoarder. That's not so great. My warlock is an amazing Potions Master."

"We'll talk about this again the next time your_ amazing_ warlock needs something he would never be able to find on his own," Baekhyun scoffed.

Jongin coughed and frowned a little. Maybe he could have been a little less rude. Maybe. He was about to apologize in a pouty mutter, but Baekhyun was quicker and changed the subject.

"Hey, you wanna eat something? I was about to get a snack."

Jongin immediately perked up with a smile.

"Oh really? Can we?"

"Of course," Baekhyun exclaimed. "To the kitchen, we go!"

Baekhyun immediately started running and bouncing away, and Jongin waddled behind, whining for the squirrel to wait for him.

The way to the kitchen was full of traps and complications, but with Baehyun's help, Jongin made it just fine. With a dexterity that could have only come with a lot of practice, Baekhyun climbed the furniture up to the countertop and ran around to different cupboards and drawers while Jongin looked at him from the kitchen's floor. Baekhyun dropped a jar of nuts and marveled at the fact that it was a lot easier to get around and cause mischief with Jongin's help in catching things. He then asked what Jongin would like to eat and snorted when Jongin asked him what they even had.

"Everything. I told you, we have everything."

At that, Jongin said he would love a little drop of honey, then, and soon there were nuts, honey, berries, and mushrooms on the floor. Immediately after he settled across from Jongin with the food between them, Baekhyun suddenly shifted. He sat there in a large, grey t-shirt and white boxers, folding his legs before he leaned forward to grab the nuts. His blond hair was a mess on top of his head, and it reminded Jongin of Chanyeol.

"Oh," Jongin said.

He looked at Baekhyun, now in his human form, who was munching on his hazelnuts in an extremely squirrel-like way.

"Yesh'?" Baekhyun asked with his mouth full.

"You shifted."

Baekhyun only shrugged.

"Well, it's just you and me here. But you don't have to do it if you don't want to."

Baekhyun snapped his fingers, summoning another pair of boxers and a t-shirt for Jongin to use if he decided to mimic him.

Jongin squirmed on the ground, looking at the door. He couldn't even hear where Taemin or Chanyeol were. And there was this honey pot to open, which would be difficult to do with his claws. He could ask Baekhyun to do it for him though... he could. But with an excitement that he couldn't even explain, he shifted too, putting on the clothes Baekhyun had silently left for him in the process.

It had been such a long time since he had been in his human form that it felt unusual, weird, a little awkward. The fact that Baekhyun's clothes were too small for him probably didn't help.

Baekhyun smiled at him, stretching his arms over his head.

"Doesn't it feel nice? It's like turning into our spirit bodies. Sometimes I get a little sore or crumpled in that tiny squirrel form, so I shift..."

"It does feel great," Jongin smiled back shyly.

He grabbed the honey pot and opened it easily, not noticing the way Baekhyun leaned towards him. He jumped as he felt cold fingers tousle his brown hair.

"Baekhyun-ah..."

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry for what I said earlier," Jongin pouted, grabbing the spoon next to his feet to dive it in the honey.

Baekhyun sighed and leaned back on his hands with a cute smile on his lips.

"It's alright. I guess I can see why you thought that... but Channie really is great. He's not just a clumsy, messy warlock. He does a lot of work, and he’s trained in a lot of different fields. Traveling in the magical lands isn't that easy."

Jongin nodded softly, apologetic eyes looking at Baekhyun in wonder. He really hadn't given it much thought when he dissed Chanyeol the way he did. It seemed that Baekhyun had forgiven him already, though. He probably understood Jongin's instinct to boast about his own warlock.

"Can we be friends?" Jongin suddenly blurted out.

It made Baekhyun laugh loudly, and Jongin cowered in shame.

"I shared my snacks with you. Of course, we're friends, silly bear."

Jongin grinned, but before he could answer, he suddenly heard voices and footsteps in the hallway.

"Baby bear, where are you?" came Taemin's voice.

Jongin gasped and hastily shifted back, hiding the honey pot behind his back as he looked at the doorway just in time to see Taemin appear.

"Oh, there you are! Hi!"

Taemin smiled at him softly as he came closer, not paying much attention to Baekhyun yet, and Jongin waddled toward him to hug his leg.

"Of course, I'd find you in the kitchen binging on honey... Satan's horns, didn't I ask you to behave?"

Jongin held out his arms, silently asking to be picked up and cuddled.

"Well, you left me there alone, and then I met Baekhyun, and he was the one who said I could have a snack."

Taemin froze, blinked, looked back at the half-naked man sitting on the kitchen floor and munching on nuts, and swallowed hard. He had been about to ask who the man was, maybe thank him for looking after Jongin, but now he was paralyzed in horror.

"Hi," Baekhyun said, a smile still plastered on his face.

That's when Jongin jumped, looked back, and suddenly realized Baekhyun was still in his human form as if it were no big deal.

"Oh, you're all here," came Chanyeol's voice from behind Taemin.

Taemin jumped around, looking at his friend with wide eyes and a pale face.

"Chanyeol, I'm so sorry. I had no idea-... I didn't mean-... I really am sorry, I didn't know he would... be in human form."

"Ah? You mean, Baekhyunnie?" Chanyeol asked.

Taemin blushed and nodded quickly as he brought Jongin closer to his chest. Then, Chanyeol chuckled.

"It's alright," Baekhyun said. "I don't mind!"

Taemin couldn't help but peek over his shoulder to see the familiar going back to eating, and Chanyeol tapped his friend's back gently.

"That's just Baekhyunnie... Don't worry about it. He shows himself to everyone without a care in the world. He shifted on the night of his arrival. I was so surprised... said it was more comfortable and he had nothing to be shy about..."

Taemin blinked quickly, still shaken, and stole a few more glances at the human spirit behind him. Hearing Chanyeol mention that Baekhyun had been comfortable enough to shift right from the beginning made him slightly upset. He looked down at Jongin, who was staring at him with such sad eyes that any awkward feeling Taemin held in the bottom of his heart vanished immediately.

"Baby bear, you're alright?"

"I'm sorry I haven't shifted yet," Jongin murmured, low enough that Baekhyun wouldn't hear him.

Taemin smiled at him and scratched him behind the ears.

"It's alright. You can take your time. I told you that already."

Jongin only hummed.

"But, Jongin…You're comfortable with me, right? At home?"

"Yes."

Jongin's answer was so quick and sounded so genuine that Taemin visibly relaxed.

"Even when I'm annoying?"

"Especially when you're annoying," Jongin said fondly.

Taemin pressed a quick kiss to the top of Jongin's head. He wasn't even sure why he did it, and Jongin went a little stiff in surprise. But, before either of them could feel too shy about it, a loud yell exploded next to them.

"Yah, Baekhyun! Did you eat all the berries?! I wanted to make a pie, you sneaky rascal!"

Chanyeol dived toward his familiar, who screamed as two hands closed around his neck and started to shake him. Taemin blinked as he saw Baekhyun vanish into thin air, and it took him a few seconds to realize that the familiar had shifted back to his animal form and was running around on Chanyeol's arm, back, and neck. Chanyeol huffed, contorting to try to reach the red squirrel who was mocking him so blatantly.

"What did I do to deserve such a troublesome familiar?" Chanyeol puffed.

Baekhyun answered with a few chattering sounds, and Chanyeol gave up, sighing loudly as he crossed his arms over his chest and felt his familiar still on his shoulder.

"Damn you," Chanyeol muttered. "How am I going to find more berries at this time of the year? Those were the last ones I had, and I took them out of the reserve to make a pie!"

It was at that moment, once Baekhyun had finally stopped running around and looked back at him, that Taemin remembered something.

He had heard about a squirrel spirit, not so long ago, and he couldn't help imagining Sehun trying to hunt a spirit as fierce as Baekhyun and getting knocked over by him. The kitchen had fallen into a silence only disrupted by Chanyeol's ragged breaths when Taemin suddenly burst out laughing.

.

.

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi everyone ♥
> 
> I hope you're all doing good during those tough times... & I sure hope this chapter could give you a little smile. Did you like the arrival of Chanyeol & Baekhyun?
> 
> Please take care of yourself until next time.


	5. Rescue me

.

It had been a couple of weeks since Jongin had come crashing into Taemin's life, barely aware of the little mess he had created and not caring about it in the slightest. The initial confusion of them learning each other's quirks and habits had since then calmed down; they had grown accustomed to the other's presence.

Even Jongin's soft clinginess didn't come as a problem anymore. Taemin had first been a little cautious about how demanding his familiar was; Jongin didn't really like to be left alone, he always came around to ask what Taemin was doing and if he could help, and he tended to be quite dramatic when he wanted attention or petting, but the warlock had found himself smiling at his familiar's antics more than he got upset with him.

They found ways to communicate and make each other comfortable. Jongin didn't comment on the fact that Taemin liked to cuddle him to sleep, and in exchange, Taemin taught him a spell to color the greenhouse's glasses a soft yellow, so that Taemin would know he was in there, working, and wouldn't walk in on him when Jongin was in his human form.

He still hadn't shown himself to Taemin and the warlock was polite enough not to ask about it. It would come, he kept telling himself. There was no hurry. No reason to worry either, since Jongin had told him numerous times that he felt very happy there with him.

After seeing Baekhyun so relaxed and serene being in human form around just about anyone, Taemin had felt quite worried and Jongdae had been the one to ease his mind. Minseok had waited almost an entire year before shifting around his warlock.

"It's just like that," Jongdae had told him. "There's no rule on how long they will wait. They do as they please... Familiars are beings, not toys. They have their own feelings and personality, please don't read too much into it."

And it had lessened Taemin's concerns; he wasn't doing anything wrong.

After a couple of days, his troubles had completely disappeared. After all, he had no problem communicating with Jongin and they lived together just fine, so there was no need to even think about what Jongin looked like as a human. It didn't matter at all.

Taemin was frowning when he entered the house from the backdoor in the kitchen and took large steps towards the living-room, heading to his cabinet filled with ingredients.

"Baby bear? Do we still have holly?"

Taemin opened the wardrobe, rummaging through drawers and knocking a few bottles away as he tried to find back the plant he was looking for. It was only when he grabbed the jar labeled as 'holly' to find it empty, that he realized the silence that had been answering him.

"Baby bear?" Taemin called out, turning around to scan the room.

It was unusual for Jongin not to be around and even more astounding not to hear his familiar immediately answer when Taemin called for him, all too happy to be required.

Taemin pouted slightly and closed his cabinet, his empty jar still in hand, before he went back to the kitchen and checked the greenhouse's glasses. When he saw them transparent, Taemin's frown deepened. He went out and called for his familiar a couple of times in vain, then came back inside, going up and down the stairs in his desperate search for his familiar.

"For Lucifer's sake, where are you hiding?"

The cottage was far too small for Jongin to be lost somewhere and Taemin was entirely certain that his bear cub would have let him know if he decided to go for a little walk. It was quite rare, considering how Jongin liked to stay close to him at all times, but it did happen for the familiar to want to go running in the forest, usually to hunt down demons and come back to Taemin with a full belly.

Just as he was ready to go out the front door, Taemin caught a very peculiar sound that caused him to stop in his track and break into soft giggles. He turned on his heels and walked on his toes to the couch, hearing another little snore and a whine as he peeked over the backrest to find Jongin sprawled over the pillows, sound asleep, his hind paw kicking the air as he seemed lost in a dream.

Taemin looked over him for a moment, a fond smile playing on his lips, and brought a blanket over his familiar.

"You'd sleep through the Apocalypse, I swear," he snorted, knowing full well that he had made a loud cacophony in his attempt to find his napping bear cub.

Taemin went away to his desk and wrote a quick note to Jongin to let him know he was out getting holly, and left it on the coffee table. He still hoped he would somehow manage to come back before Jongin woke up, quite certain that his familiar would most likely pout for being left behind, even though he had been asleep.

Taemin stole another glance at Jongin, leaning over him to pet his head gently before he grabbed his hat and left the house. He tightened his scarf around his neck, looked up to the grey sky, put his large hat on, and quickly hopped away from his garden.

"Good afternoon, Ernest," Taemin said with a little tilt of his head to the crow perched on the rocks at the end of his property.

The bird cawed loudly, staring at him as the warlock continued on his way.

Taemin tried to remember where were the best places in the forest to fill up his holly stock and promptly turned right. It was difficult for him to pay attention to where he was going when he was so deep in thoughts about the next potion he wanted to try. He kept stopping and going back on his steps as he mentally went through the list of ingredients he would need, trying to choose which plants would give him the best result or which creature's claws would be the most efficient associated with holly.

Taemin stopped on his way down a slight hill to pick up some hellebores he saw on the side and crouched on the ground to gather them in a little bag. Just as his fingers closed on the last flower under his nose, he heard a gasp, followed by the peculiar and disturbing sound of teeth clashing together repeatedly.

Taemin widened his eyes and turned his head enough to catch sight of a couple of little creatures, looking at him from behind tall mushrooms, their large dark eyes focused on him. Their round little heads were dangling right and left as if they were too heavy for their thin necks but what always struck Taemin when he encountered those little beings were their enormous lips-less mouths, filled with pointy teeth that they kept snapping against each other.

"Hi there," Taemin greeted them softly, waving to the two small Dreameaters.

The Dreameaters opened their mouths again, letting out eerie giggles as they bounced closer to him. With a smile, the warlock sent a few magical green sparks to the creatures, watching them excitedly jump to catch and eat them. Although slightly repugnant to look at, Dreameaters were quite harmless, especially during the day, and Taemin stayed next to them for a few minutes, laughing as he kept creating more little sparkles for them to play with.

The forest around them was quiet and Taemin hummed in surprise when he saw his two new little friends suddenly freeze and look at him with wide eyes. They clacked their teeth even quicker than usual and abruptly jumped away, disappearing in little puffs of black smoke before Taemin could say anything. The warlock frowned and got up, looking around himself as he searched for the thing that could have scared the Dreameaters away.

He put his bag of hellebore in a pocket of his coat to free his hands, conjuring a fireball with a snap of his fingers as he squinted, trying to see past the mist that enveloped the trees around him, in vain. He couldn't hear nor see anything suspicious.

Just as he was about to resume his previous path to get his precious holly, Taemin stilled. He felt it; a low rumble through the earth, magic crackling everywhere, and before he could even think about what might be coming, he heard the singular sounds of trees being uprooted and put in pieces. He had just enough time to turn around to see a demon standing behind him, far taller than any kind Taemin had ever encountered in his forest, and his eyes widened in shock as he saw the creature screech at him, jaws filled with multiple rows of teeth opening far too close to his face.

Taemin threw his fireball before he could even think, and took a few steps back. The demon barely got shook by the magic the warlock shoved to his face and quickly came closer with jerky moves. Taemin felt his heart clench in his chest with fear.

"Lucifer's horns, what the fuck are you?"

His own voice sounded distant to his ears. Desperately trying to find a spell that might be strong enough to hurt the demon and let him escape, Taemin kept producing small balls of energy that he flung to the creature's torso. He saw it took a few steps back before it straightened up, towering over Taemin in all its might as he screeched again, loud and acute, causing all of Taemin's hair to stand on his body.

Then he heard a growl. It was deafening, husky; it sounded furious. Taemin gasped. It occurred to him that if another one of those things appeared, he had no idea how he could escape them and make it back home alive. Right as an unspeakable fear clung to his heart, he saw a beast cloaked in shadows jump at the demon's throat, causing them both to fall on the ground and roll further away.

Taemin could hear his heart beating so hard in his chest that it was painful. His first instinct told him to run as fast as he could, as far away as possible, but his eyes couldn't leave the fight happening right next to him. He couldn't tell where the demon ended and where the beast started, they were both caught in combat that had Taemin wince with disgust. He heard ominous, gruesome sounds, and saw something fly away. He wasn't sure what it was. It had looked like a hand.

He heard more screeches, more growls until it became obvious to Taemin that the beast had the upper hand. The fight quieted down to huffs, puffs, and sounds the warlock still couldn't describe. It seemed that the beast was _eating_. That was when Taemin understood why he didn't go away, why, despite his initial fear, his body hadn't moved. The beast, who had his back turned to him, looked familiar.

"Jongin?"

Taemin hadn't meant to call for him. His own voice startled him once again. He saw the beast still and slowly turn around, golden eyes staring back at the warlock. If Jongin had looked terrifying the first time Taemin had seen him in his spirit form, it was nothing compared to the sight of him, fangs bared, dark red blood dripping down his jaw and onto his chest.

Taemin blinked so fast and so much that he could barely look at his familiar. Jongin completely turned around and wiped one of his enormous paws over his mouth before he took one step toward his warlock. He saw the way Taemin jumped slightly, and he froze in guilt.

"Taemin-ah..."

"Yeah...?"

Jongin shifted. It took him less than a second and Taemin brought one hand to his mouth as he tried to stay calm.

"Taemin-ah, it's just me..." Jongin said softly, tilting his head to the side.

Taemin could tell his familiar was trying to comfort and reassure him but there was something even more disturbing in seeing his tiny bear cub covered in blood, his small body no longer hiding the mutilated demon corpse behind him.

Jongin walked shyly and finally ran to him, sitting on his butt at Taemin's feet with a sad look in his eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

Taemin abruptly let out the breath he hadn't realize he had been holding and squatted down in front of Jongin. He was shaking from the top of his head to the tip of his toes as he gripped Jongin to touch him and make sure he wasn't injured. He was a little frantic, grabbing Jongin's limbs and finally bringing him closer to hold him.

"I am," Taemin said. "By all devils in Hell... Are _you_ okay? Are you hurt?"

Jongin cooed softly, relaxing in Taemin's arms.

"Nah, I'm fine."

Taemin brought his hands to cup Jongin's head and looked at him, no longer bothering about the blood still dripping down his fingers.

"You fucking saved my ass."

"You shouldn't go out without me anymore," Jongin pouted, his words coming out slightly slurred by the way Taemin was holding his mouth. "You were lucky I got there on time. What if I couldn't find you in time? What then, Taemin-ah?"

Taemin let out a nervous laugh and lowered his head to press his forehead against Jongin's.

Jongin wanted to keep whining because Taemin had truly been reckless and it had caused him so much anxiety; he had run wondering if he'd make it to his warlock in time after waking up in distress, feeling like everything was wrong. But he remained quiet. Taemin was slowly relaxing around him and Jongin rubbed his face in the man's neck, covering his warlock in demon's blood.

"Let's go home," Jongin mumbled.

"Yeah," Taemin said softly.

He slowly got back up, letting go of Jongin in the process, much to his familiar's disapproval. Before Jongin could voice any complaints and demand to be held and carried back home in thanks for his services, Taemin spoke.

"Baby bear, would you let me look at you?"

His question took Jongin by surprise.

"What do you mean?"

"Your spirit form...," Taemin continued. "May I see you like that again?"

Jongin cowered slightly. Even when they went out together, he had managed not to show himself that way to Taemin again after their very first encounter in their dream. The way his warlock had looked at him just a few minutes ago, the fear in his eyes, it wasn't pleasant to Jongin at all. He'd much rather have Taemin smirk at him and call him a baby.

Taemin must have sensed his reluctance because he kept talking.

"I'd like to get used to it," he explained. "It's impressive... but it's still you, right? I'd just-... I'd like to look at you better if you're okay with it."

Jongin sighed and stayed quiet for a moment as if he was pondering over Taemin's question.

"I'm still... covered in blood," he mumbled.

"Oh, okay," Taemin said, nodding softly. "Well, hum-... another time, then?"

He sounded a little disappointed and Jongin squirmed on the ground.

"No, I mean-... Look, I don't mind shifting for you. I just don't want to scare you again."

"I'll be brave," Taemin simpered with a cheeky smile. "I promise."

Jongin smiled, happy to see his warlock comfortable enough to tease him. He shifted back in an instant, turning into a gigantic beast. Taemin gasped but did his best to control the emotions on his face. Jongin's eyes had turned golden but this time, he looked at him with the same gentleness his familiar always had toward him. Or at least, when he wasn't pissed off with him.

It was still difficult to make out the outlines of Jongin's spirit body with the mist and shadows enveloping him whole but from so close, under the low light of that grey winter day, Taemin could finally see the animal in him. He wasn't truly a beast, or not completely. He was more of an enormous black bear with a deathly aura.

Taemin took a long breath and held out his hand to shyly stroke Jongin's fur. It was soft, just as Jongin always was.

"Ah, you're not that scary after all," Taemin breathed out.

"Only to anyone threatening you," Jongin simpered.

Taemin laughed softly and brought his hand to Jongin's chin to scratch him gently.

"Thank you, by the way."

Jongin hummed in confusion and Taemin smiled.

"For saving me," Taemin said. "I didn't even thank you..."

"Anytime," Jongin answered. "Let's go home now."

Taemin nodded and turned to head back to their place before he stopped and looked back.

"Ah, baby bear... don't you uh-... do you want to finish... eating?" he asked with a wary look to the demon corpse still laying not so far away from them.

"Nah," Jongin said before suddenly shifting back to his bear cub form. "He tastes funny."

Taemin hid a laugh behind his hand and scooted down to pick Jongin up in his arms.

"You turned back for me to carry you, right?"

"You know me so well."

"Brat."

Taemin held him closer than usual, a little tighter as he walked back, not sparing another glance to the monstrosity Jongin had saved him from. They were silent, Jongin softly purring in Taemin's arms as he enjoyed his ride, until Taemin stilled.

"Oh, I forgot! I need holly!"

"What?"

Jongin straightened up in Taemin's arms to look at him with a frown.

"Holly! I wanted to get some... That's why I even got out in the first place."

Taemin looked around but Jongin spoke before he could figure out which way to go to pick up the plant he was looking for.

"Can we go back home instead?"

"But baby bear, I really need holly, it will only take a minute..."

"Taemin-ah, please."

Taemin blinked and looked down at his familiar's pleading eyes and he suddenly realized that Jongin had fought for him, minutes ago. He was probably tired, or sore, even if he wasn't hurt.

"Ah, yeah, sorry," Taemin muttered. "I uh-... I'm a little distracted."

Jongin sighed and curled up again against him.

"It's okay," he whispered. "I just want you home and safe."

"I'm sorry?"

Jongin hid his face in his paws, eyes closed as his voice grew softer.

"I'll go out later to get you some holly, if you want. But I was so worried... I need you to be safe now, you know?"

Taemin pursed his lips, looking tenderly at the familiar snuggling to him.

"I didn't mean to worry you."

"I know," Jongin sighed. "But I woke up in a sweat and you weren't there and I could tell something was off... And that kind of demons... I've never seen them around... so I uh-... I just-..."

He trailed off without finishing his sentence and Taemin didn't ask for more explanations. He could somehow imagine what was going on inside his familiar's mind. Jongin would only be reassured once he'll see him protected and secure inside their home, barricaded by both their magics.

Without a word, he brought them both back to their house and made sure to stay in Jongin's sight even as he made them both some tea to calm down from the events of that afternoon. Jongin was curled up on Taemin's lap when he asked what Taemin even needed holly for, and the warlock gently explained the protective potion he needed to redo.

Jongin barely left Taemin alone that day, following him everywhere silently to make sure his warlock wasn't getting himself in trouble again. He promised they could go get some holly on the next day and Taemin soon gave in and stopped trying to go out.

They did some reading, then Taemin sat at his desk, taking out his quills and papers to write down the list of potions he had run out of and Jongin was quick to waddle to him, sitting on the stool nearby and peeking at his warlock's notes to comment on a few things here or there that he thought they might need.

At some point, Jongin seemed to get bored of Taemin's continuous writing and went away. The warlock found him a couple of hours later, sitting on the windowsill and seemingly in a deep conversation with Kolya, the carnivorous plant. Taemin stayed quiet and looked at him for a while, listening to his familiar babbling about his favorite kind of food and telling the plant he hadn't tried flies up until now but maybe one day he would and then he would be able to tell them what he thought of it.

"Baby bear..."

Jongin jumped on his butt and straightened up to look to Taemin, his eyes scanning the living-room in slight incredulity before he found his warlock smirking next to the stairs.

"Yeah, what is it?"

The fact that Jongin didn't seem to be fazed nor ashamed to be caught talking to a plant made Taemin realize that it was probably a very normal thing for him to do. Pointing it out as funny would only result in Jongin rolling his eyes and lecturing him about how little he knew about spirits, so Taemin kept his mouth shut.

"I gotta make a call, you wanna come?"

For some reason that Taemin hadn't yet figured out, he had found that Jongin had developed quite an interest in watching him have conversations with his friends. It appeared that Jongin liked making the call itself almost as much as he liked squirming in front of the mirror to look at their interlocutor.

"Taemin-ah, we can't make a call now..." Jongin said with a frown.

"Why not?"

"It's late."

"No, it's not," Taemin sighed with a roll of his eyes.

Jongin moved to climb down the windowsill and grumbled all the way to Taemin's feet.

"It is, I assure you. You can't call people at 3 am, it's just not polite."

He had slowly adjusted to Taemin's habits and he was feeling quite okay with living half during the day, half during the night; still he wasn't going to let his warlock wake someone else up so late.

"Relax," Taemin snorted, "he barely sleeps anyway. And when he does, it's usually during the day."

The warlock turned on his heels to approach the oval mirror hanging on the wall next to the kitchen's entrance. He had placed a stool there too for Jongin to climb so his familiar could reach the mirror.

"But Taemin-..."

"I'm calling him with or without your approval. So, you wanna stay with me or go sulk in a corner about how late it is?"

Jongin glared at him from the floor and made his way to the stool without another word. He was doing his very best not to pout but it was definitely difficult when Taemin was being such an imbecile.

"You're mean," Jongin only whispered as he reached the top of his stool and sat there, his back facing his warlock.

Taemin grabbed Jongin to scratch his ribs playfully and bent down enough to peck the top of his head.

"You wanna make the call?"

Jongin sighed dramatically as if he was doing Taemin a favor when they both perfectly knew that Taemin didn't need him at all and was indulging in Jongin's usual excitement to make a call.

"Who are we calling?"

"Kim Jonghyun."

"Do I know him?" Jongin asked, turning his head to glance at Taemin. "I don't think so, right?"

"Nope."

Jongin hummed and nodded before he looked back at the mirror and pressed one of his paws to it. He murmured a few words and couldn't help but giggle when he felt the familiar tickle going up to his paw and arm once the spell was cast. Jongin then straightened up on his hind paws, leaning softly on Taemin to have a better look at their reflection which slowly blurred. It soon stabilized to show a completely different home, quite lovely in Jongin's opinion.

He could see immense windows in front of them, carved into beautiful patterns, showing the starry night sky. There was a desk, drowning under papers, crystals, lit candles, and several instruments that Jongin had never seen before and he had no idea what they could be used for.

Jongin stepped closer as if it would allow him to see better into the warlock's home, and he felt Taemin's hand on his body, preventing him from falling off his stool.

They heard a loud noise and Taemin frowned.

"Jonghyun? Are you there? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine! Give me a minute!" came a loud voice from somewhere in that house that Jongin and Taemin couldn't see.

They heard a ramble, a few muffled curses that caused Taemin to laugh, then a warlock appeared in their field of view, disheveled and short of breaths but smiling largely.

"Hi there... Oh! Someone new! Hi! Who's this?" Jonghyun immediately asked.

Taemin was still laughing when he introduced Jongin to him but the familiar didn't pay that much attention to the conversation, much more occupied in detailing the new face he could see in the mirror.

Jonghyun had white hair, high cheekbones, and a very large smile, but what truly struck Jongin into silence were his eyes. They were of two different colors. Jongin found them mesmerizing.

When he was done pinpointing which colors Jonghyun's eyes were -one was blue, the other was brown- Jongin wiggled back to lean against Taemin's chest and tried to understand where the conversation was going. Hopefully, he hadn't missed much.

"So, are you calling because your potion failed?" Jonghyun asked absentmindedly as he almost disappeared from view, bending to the right to go through notes he left there.

Taemin huffed in annoyance and Jongin couldn't help but look up, eyes wide as he witnessed his warlock stunned into silence, pink tainting his cheeks. That was a very rare sight Jongin wasn't sure he would ever get tired of.

"Well..." Taemin mumbled.

Jonghyun hummed, smirking at him with one eyebrow raised in a face far too smug for Taemin's liking.

"It hasn't failed per se," Taemin tried to argue, "there were circumstances-..."

"I told you so!" Jonghyun exclaimed loudly.

Taemin sighed dramatically with a roll of his eyes and pouted, much to Jongin's joy.

"I told you," Jonghyun cried out. "I told you there would be perturbations! I told you that starting such a complicated potion with the Moon in Scorpio couldn't end well... But of course, you never listen to me. You always ask for my opinion and when I say something you don't like, you just... like... decide that my work is nonsense. Well, I fucking told you so. You big idiot!"

"I never said your work is nonsense," Taemin sulked.

"Not listening to me when I warn you that you're going to ruin rare and expensive ingredients by starting the most sensitive potion you've ever tried at the worst possible timing is stupid, Taemin. It's disrespecting the amount of work and efforts I do as if my field of expertise was just rubbish."

"Satan's horns, can you be any more dramatic?"

Jonghyun scowled at him through the mirror and Taemin pulled out his tongue.

"Taemin-ah," came Jongin's small voice. "Taemin-ah, what does your friend do?"

Taemin looked down and sighed as he petted his familiar.

"He's an Oracle," Taemin said. "He studies astrology, astronomy, and divination."

Jongin made a little sound of slight awe as he turned back to look at the warlock who was looking gently at him.

"I merely read the sky," Jonghyun said to the bear cub who widened his eyes. "The stars never lie."

Jongin softly nodded and hid slightly behind Taemin's small hands, feeling suddenly self-conscious with the other warlock's eyes on him.

"Anyway," Jonghyun snorted as he brought his attention back to Taemin, "did you call to know when you can do your potion again?"

"Yeah..." Taemin admitted reluctantly.

Jonghyun squinted, sighed once again as theatrically as he could, and turned away to walk to his desk.

"Let me see," Jonghyun mumbled from afar.

He pushed a few books away, looked through his notes, and came back to his mirror with a few paper rolls under his arms. He opened one, looked at it with a frown for a couple of minutes before he discarded it, and took a second one, mumbling to himself.

"So?" Taemin asked.

"One minute, you impatient goblin. There. Here we go," Jonghyun muttered. "You missed the perfect opportunity. Last full moon, four days ago would have been optimal."

Taemin rubbed his eyes and grunted.

"Lucifer Almighty... Then when can I try again?"

Jonghyun shrugged.

"You got a small window next week on Saturday but the results aren't guaranteed. It might be tricky. The best would be to wait for the Moon to be in Pisces... Mars would be ideally placed in three weeks, on Wednesday. That'd be your best shot."

"Three weeks? Are you fucking kidding me?"

Jonghyun glared at him over his notes with pursed lips.

"You're playing with mind control, Taemin. It's sensitive magic, what did you expect?"

"Alright, thanks, I guess..." Taemin breathed out as he tousled his hair away from his forehead.

"You're welcome," Jonghyun said. "I'll see if you actually listen to me this time or if you call back in a couple of weeks."

Taemin rolled his eyes and Jonghyun went back to his desk to put down all of his rolls of notes. He looked over his shoulder and smiled.

"Did you need anything else, Taeminnie?"

The nickname got Jongin to straighten up in disbelief.

"I have a question, actually."

"Taeminnie?" Jongin chirped. "He called you 'Taeminnie'? Can I call you that too?"

Taemin pinched Jongin's nose.

"No, you can't!"

"But, Taeminnie-..."

"It's forbidden! Don't you dare!"

"I'm gonna do it anyway!"

Taemin sighed with exasperation and forced Jongin's muzzle shut with his two hands before he glanced back at his warlock friend through the mirror.

"Damn you," Taemin grumbled.

"Whatever it was that bothered you," Jonghyun said, "I'm glad I did it."

"You ass."

"What did you want to ask?"

Jongin was trying desperately to free himself from Taemin's hold, squirming around with little huffs and puffs until he heard his warlock's speak again.

"I've seen a demon today in my forest..." Taemin said softly.

"Isn't it infested by those nasty things?" Jonghyun pondered. "You really should consider moving out."

"No, I mean-... It was a different kind of demon than usual. I know almost all kinds of creatures, ghosts, and demons in my woods. I can keep them under control. But that thing-... It wasn't common. It wasn't the kind of low-ranking stinky demon I see around here."

Jonghyun was looking at him silently, softly nodding, and then frowned.

"What's your question?"

"I don't know," Taemin said with a nervous laugh. "I just... wondered if you knew something. Like... if you had seen _perturbations _in the stars or whatever."

Jonghyun took a long inhale to avoid yelling at Taemin's face again because his friend was clearly worried.

"I don't know, to be honest. I don't usually look out for demonic activity, sorry. Perhaps you should contact Do Kyungsoo instead."

Taemin hummed and his eyes lowered to the ground in wonder.

"Yeah... yeah, I probably will."

"I can keep an eye out if you want me to. I could do some researches to see if I missed something important..."

Taemin's attention jumped back to his friend and he didn't realize that Jongin had finally broken free. His familiar remained quiet anyway.

"No, it's alright. I'll see with Kyungsoo, don't bother."

"As you want."

"Thanks for taking the call, by the way. I'll go put my baby bear to sleep now."

Jongin snorted and hit Taemin's arm weakly as Jonghyun grinned.

"Anytime. Good night, then. And call more often."

"I will," Taemin promised.

"I know you won't."

Taemin fluttered his eyelashes innocently and waved to his friend. Jongin got back up on his hind paws and approached the mirror to wave too.

"Bye, Mister Kim."

Jonghyun only heard a low growl and cooed to the bear cub. The image of the Oracle warlock stilled, then disappeared, and Jongin was suddenly looking at Taemin through the mirror.

"Let's go to bed now, baby bear. It was quite a day," Taemin murmured as he grabbed Jongin to press him against his chest.

Jongin heard his warlock's heart beat slightly faster than usual and he wondered if Taemin was still feeling upset by what happened that afternoon. He surely was worried about the demon they encountered, even if he didn't speak that much about it.

Jongin snuggled to him, hoping to comfort him, and smiled.

"Yes,_ Taeminnie_. Let's go to bed."

"I'm gonna drop your ass to the ground."

"Don't be mean, _Taeminnie_."

"I'm serious, I'm gonna throw you out the window directly into the snow."

"Ah, but then, who would you cuddle to sleep, _Taeminnie_?"

Taemin let out a frustrated cry as he went up the stairs and Jongin giggled in his arms, very pleased with the new weapon Kim Jonghyun had given him.

.

.

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My lovelies,
> 
> I hope you liked this chapter!! & the arrival of Jonghyun!! & Nini being HEROIC!! ♥♥♥ It was such an exciting chapter to write... but I'm sorry I uploaded it unedited & I hope it didn't bother you as you read.  
My beta is very busy lately & I must confess... I'm struggling to keep myself from posting. Please forgive me.
> 
> Take care of yourself until next time ♥


	6. Baby Mine

.

Taemin was sitting at his desk, in the early afternoon, hair sticking on his head as he scribbled down frantically in an old notebook. An idea had struck him at night, a thought for a potion, an exciting concept he then absolutely needed to put together, to organize, to write down as his next project. He had been at it for the past three hours already; the last cup of green tea that Jongin had brought him over an hour earlier had turned cold.

They had lived together long enough, by then, for Jongin to know that he wouldn't get any explanation from Taemin as long as the warlock was in that agitated state of thoughts. The first time such an idea had appeared in Taemin's mind, Jongin had been upset, pouty, grumpy with the way his warlock had treated him: barely talking to him, making annoyed sounds whenever Jongin had tried to question him on what exactly he was doing, and generally not paying any attention to his familiar as he was too busy untangling his theories. But Jongin had become much better at reading his warlock and giving him the space he needed. It had been difficult, at first, not to take it personally, not to feel like a bother to Taemin; but the warlock was always ecstatic to share his plans and discoveries with Jongin afterward, once he could hear himself think. There were still times when Jongin had to breathe deeply and remember that Taemin wasn't used to living with someone else and needed personal space and quiet once in a while; but that morning, Jongin had perfectly understood what was, once again, going on. Taemin had woken up with wide, clouded eyes, mumbling in his non-existent beard, scratching his hair, and frowning at the wall; so Jongin had pushed him towards his desk and had let him work, taking care of breakfast by himself before he had gone away to his greenhouse.

Taemin grabbed the cup of tea and winced in disgust when the cold liquid hit his lips. He put the cup back on his desk, sighed, and turned on his chair. The house was silent. Taemin blinked a few times, opened his mouth to try and call his familiar but then changed his mind. He looked back at the mess of notes he had made and nodded to himself. He was finally done with the trickiest, most complicated calculations of that new idea he had had. He still needed to do some researches, maybe ask a couple of friends about his conclusions, he definitely wanted to ask Jongin's opinion on it... but he had worked a lot already and deserved a break. Maybe his bear cub would like to get some warm tea together. Jongin would surely agree if Taemin made it a little snack time, with anything honey-flavored to eat.

The warlock smiled and got up, stretching his sore limbs with a groan, when an unexpected noise resonated around the house.

Taemin straightened up and turned towards the door, wondering who could possibly come to bother him unexpectedly. He was so surprised that, at first, he didn't even move. It was only at the second set of knocks that he shook his head and hopped to the entrance, suddenly wondering where Jongin could be and why he couldn't hear him around. Any thoughts of his familiar were pushed further away in his mind as Taemin opened his front door to come face to face with Do Kyungsoo.

They remained silent, staring at each other, as Taemin was desperately searching in his memories if he had called the demonologist and forgot about it. He was pretty sure he hadn't, despite thinking about it for the last couple of days; he needed his help yet again but wasn't so eager to remind Kyungsoo of the last time he had come to him for his services.

And yet, there Kyungsoo was, standing on Taemin's porch, as phlegmatic as ever, with a slight frown on his face.

"Are you going to let me in or what?" Kyungsoo sighed.

Taemin jolted out of his thoughts and chuckled before he moved away from the entrance, doing an exaggerated bow to invite his friend in.

"Sorry, my mind is elsewhere today. Hi. Come in. It's good to see you."

Kyungsoo rolled his eyes but entered, patting Taemin's head before he took off his shoes.

"How are you doing?" Kyungsoo asked. "I heard you got yet another demonic problem."

"You did?" Taemin asked, his voice growing high-pitched.

"Yeah... It's a long story," Kyungsoo grunted as he took a few steps in the house, looking around in wonder.

He hadn't come there in a while. It hadn't changed much but Kyungsoo immediately picked up on the few adjustments. Stools were left in random places across the living room, along with blankets, and the few plants Taemin had inside were doing much better; it was all together messier, more cluttered, and yet more lively.

"Do you have time for tea?" Kyungsoo asked as he turned around to look at Taemin.

Taemin hummed and then smiled.

"Of course!"

Everything about the situation was so unusual that Taemin was dying to know more. It wasn't just every day that Do Kyungsoo came to one's house with stories to tell, asking for tea like a gossip. Taemin brought him to the kitchen and let him choose which tea he'd like, absolutely not surprised that Kyungsoo would go with his strongest black tea.

"Should I leave a window open for Sehun?" Taemin asked as he put the boiler on the hotplate. "Is he hunting around?"

Kyungsoo snorted and sat on a chair.

"No, that scoundrel is too busy."

Taemin stilled, then glanced at his friend over his shoulder and simply nodded, taking out two mugs and waiting for Kyungsoo to elaborate. But nothing came.

"Did something happen with him?" Taemin pushed, trying to come off as casual as possible.

Kyungsoo sighed loudly and looked away, through the window over the sink. The forest surrounding Taemin's house was as dark and creepy as always.

"He found himself a boyfriend," Kyungsoo simply said.

Taemin nodded.

"And that's... bad?"

"It's only bad because out of all the humans, spirits, warlocks, creatures, and beings on this fucking planet, he had to fall in love with that damn squirrel."

Taemin smirked slightly.

"A squirrel?"

"Yeah... Do you even remember that time he fought a squirrel and got his ass beaten? Turns out it was truly a spirit and they kept meeting. Sehun tried to eat him at least three times before they finally figured out they were both familiars."

Taemin stared at his friend.

"A squirrel familiar?"

"His name is Baekhyun."

Somehow, the root of the problem started to appear to Taemin and he was doing his best not to burst out laughing.

"You'll never guess who's the bloody warlock of that damn squirrel," Kyungsoo cursed.

Taemin cackled as quietly as possible as the boiler started whistling.

"He's Park Chanyeol's familiar, right?"

"Bloody Park Chanyeol, indeed," Kyungsoo grunted.

Taemin hid his smile behind his hand while Kyungsoo was staring at him, frowning deeply and visibly fuming.

"That giant squid. He keeps coming to my place, invading my home on the pretext that Baekhyun wants to see Sehun as if those two cretins couldn't meet anywhere else. They always want to hang out and Chanyeol has decided that my house was extremely interesting and he just won't fucking leave. He's everywhere. His stuff is everywhere. I'm this close to committing a freaking murder, I'm telling you," Kyungsoo said, exasperated, as he brought his index and thumb very close to each other in Taemin's general direction.

"I suppose it's not that easy to tell him to go away?"

Kyungsoo sighed and fell against the back of his chair.

"No. No, it's not. I just needed to get out of that place for a moment."

"Well, I'm glad you came here."

"Park said that he heard you were in trouble again. I can't tell you who he got it from, this man speaks too much, I barely listen to a third of what comes out of his mouth."

Taemin put the cups and teapot on a little trail, along with a couple of cookies he had made for Jongin the previous day, and turned to his friend.

"Let's get to the living room. I'll tell you all about my demon to occupy your mind with something other than Park Chanyeol."

Kyungsoo mumbled a quick thank and followed Taemin around as they went back to the living room. Taemin sat cross-legged and widened his eyes when he realized Jongin was there, sprawled in his basket, sound asleep. The bear cub snored softly, one of his hind paws twitching, and Taemin couldn't help the fond smile on his lips.

"Is that the ferocious beast who scared the shit out of you?"

Taemin winced and turned to Kyungsoo to find his friend glancing at Jongin with a small smirk at the corner of his lips.

"Yeah," Taemin admitted, albeit reluctantly.

"He's cute."

"His spirit form is really terrifying. I swear."

Kyungsoo tilted his head to throw him a mocking look to which Taemin only answered with a pout.

"He really _is_ scary!"

"I know," Kyungsoo said calmly. "I mean, I can imagine that his spirit form might be impressive. I still think you're dumb for failing to recognize your familiar."

Taemin poured them each a cup of tea but kept quiet, sulking. He was trying not to retort anything and not to engage in a debate he knew he would most likely lose.

"So now, just tell me about that demon you saw, will you..."

Jongin woke up to voices. He grunted lowly, still half asleep, and tried to situate where he was, what was happening, and who he was hearing. He half-heartedly cracked an eye open, frowned, and rubbed one paw over his face. Maybe the little nap he had taken had been too long.

He finally recognized Taemin's voice, speaking not so far away from him and it caused him to turn his head toward his warlock, laboriously opening his second eye.

Unfortunately, Taemin wasn't speaking to him. Jongin straightened up in his basket and couldn't hold back the terrible, loud yawn he let out. Then he squinted his eyes at their visitor, trying to replace if he met him already.

Taemin cut himself in the middle of his sentence as he heard his familiar wake up from his slumber and smiled brightly at him.

"Hi, baby bear."

But Jongin didn't pay attention to him. Instead, he was staring at the man sitting next to Taemin, who was looking right back at him. Jongin was pretty sure he hadn't met him yet and he wondered who it could possibly be. Another warlock, most likely.

The man looked away, apparently going back to his conversation with Taemin, and Jongin sniffed. He detailed the man more thoroughly, trying to figure out what he could possibly want from them from his looks alone, but Jongin's sleepy mind couldn't really put anything together so he simply stared dumbly at the man's strange leather outfit, the curious weapon hanging from his belt, and finally, the way his leg was folded on the couch, his knee touching Taemin's thigh. Jongin frowned, looked up at Taemin who was thoughtlessly talking with that man, then proceeded to drag himself out of his basket to waddle to the couch. Jongin sneaked in between their legs and climbed up between the two of them, pushing Kyungsoo away with his hind paws in a very unfortunate and definitely not premeditated accident. He heard a little snort and looked over his shoulder to the warlock who had raised a knowing eyebrow at him.

Taemin was still babbling, something about the demons in their forest; Jongin wasn't listening, he was far too busy making his way on his warlock's lap to sit there, on his thighs, and cuddle to him. Taemin giggled when he felt his familiar plop onto him and fondly hugged him as Jongin was snuggling up to his chest.

Then, Jongin simply turned his face to look at Kyungsoo, all smug and triumphant, and he was quite certain that the message he had tried to convey was loud and clear.

"I see," Kyungsoo said.

Jongin knew he was talking to Taemin but the man was looking right at him and thus, gave him the confirmation the familiar waited that he had successfully established who in that house was closest and most precious to Taemin.

"Well," Kyungsoo breathed out and looked up to Taemin, going back fully into their conversation. And Jongin did his best to finally pay attention to the matter at hand. "I have some bad news for you."

"Uh, really?" Taemin winced. "How so?"

Kyungsoo massaged his temples with a little snort.

"There's a rumor going around in the hunters and demonologists circle... I had been hoping it was only some bullshit whisper but if you've encountered a Sower of Discord, then we're fucked."

"A Sower of Discord?"

"I mean, I'm not entirely sure. I'd need you to come to my place to look at some pictures I have of them in books... but from your descriptions, that's what I think you saw. Did your familiar recognize it?"

Taemin blinked a couple of times and looked down at Jongin who was sitting on his thighs and softly shook his head.

"Sorry," Jongin said.

"They're called Furies sometimes... Mostly recognizable by their large height and lack of eyes. Creepy bastards," Kyungsoo continued. "Oh wait, did you perhaps see a mark on their head? A red strike..."

"I'm sorry, I didn't pay attention. It moved too quickly..." Taemin sighed.

Kyungsoo pouted but only nodded before he looked down at Jongin.

"Did you take a look at their head by any chance?"

"There was a mark," Jongin said as he snuggled closer to Taemin. "Kinda like a fork with two branches."

Taemin translated his comment to Kyungsoo who remained silent for a moment before he leaned back against the couch in defeat.

"It's the mark of Abaddon. You did see a Sower of Discord... which means, the rumors are true. Some fucker opened a gate of Hell."

Jongin jolted with surprise on Taemin's lap and the warlock tightened his hold on him.

"What the fuck?"

Taemin's voice was a little too high-pitched and it took a wince out of him.

"It happens sometimes. Some entitled asshole warlock opens them... I fucking hate them. Whoever did it probably opened the one not so far away from your forest... One more reason why I think you should find yourself another place, by the way. Out of all the creepy, haunted forest in the country, you had to come to the one closest to a Hell gate."

Taemin dismissed his worries with a wave of his hand. He was too used to all of his friends telling him to move and he didn't plan to. He loved his forest far too much, demons be damned.

"Why would a warlock do that?"

"I don't know. I don't fucking care. They always have some kind of stupid reason and they just refuse to accept that what is dead must stay dead and what is in Hell must fucking stay there. It should be like... a requirement at this point. Before being allowed to become a demonologist or a hunter, you should pledge not to mess with Hell's openings and not to try to bring back anything or anyone."

Jongin growled between them and Taemin scratched his head gently.

"Jongin asks what we can do..."

"You, nothing," Kyungsoo snorted as he looked at the both of them. "Be careful when you go around your forest and pile up on healing potions. Not to be condescending but after having some moronic, reckless warlocks open Hell, the last thing we need is underqualified warlocks hunting demons. Just stay safe, please."

Taemin agreed softly -not without pouting- and felt Jongin get up on his lap. The familiar climbed his warlock and rested his paws on Taemin's shoulders.

"Don't worry, Taeminnie. I'll eat anything that crosses our path."

Taemin chuckled and scratched his familiar's belly softly to make him purr.

"Thanks, baby bear."

Kyungsoo straightened on the couch to grab his cup of tea from the table. It had gone lukewarm by then but it still didn't make the little smile that had appeared on the demonologist's lips falter.

"At least," Kyungsoo said with a delighted tone, "I'll have a very good excuse not to be home. I'll be too busy hunting demons and saving the world from an apocalypse to meet with Park Chanyeol."

Before he left, Kyungsoo had carried out a raid on Taemin's potions. As he had promised him weeks earlier, Taemin generously offered him one for free, and still kept his prices low for the rest of the healing ointments the demonologist wanted. Kyungsoo had asked in a grumble if he happened to have a potion to turn a warlock mute and Taemin had promised to look into it as he walked him out.

When they ended up alone in their house again, Jongin was looking at the empty shelves in Taemin's workshop, far too happy to see them bare.

"What makes you so jolly?" Taemin snorted and pinched Jongin's ear.

His familiar squirmed on his feet to free himself but still grinned to his warlock.

"We'll have a lot of potions to redo... which means we'll be doing magic together again, won't we? Won't we?"

Taemin scrunched his nose fondly and crouched down in front of Jongin.

"Yeah, we will. Healing potions are really quick and easy to make though. I have a wonderful recipe, it won't take long."

Jongin sighed and Taemin could tell he was doing his best not to pout.

"We're not making as much magic together as you hoped we would, right?" Taemin said softly.

Jongin widened his eyes, opened his mouth, closed it, and looked around as if a little embarrassed.

"Well, maybe..."

Taemin sat up and caught one of Jongin's paws, squeezing it gently.

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Jongin immediately said.

It wasn't. And Taemin knew it. But Jongin didn't want Taemin to feel guilty because of him and it was painfully obvious to the warlock.

"It's just..." Jongin continued. "You know, potions... They're like... really awesome... but uh-... you don't need me a lot. I mean, you like to ask for my opinion, which feels nice, and you clearly need someone to stop you from trying out concoctions that would blow up the house..."

"I do," Taemin chuckled.

"Seriously, how did you even survive so long without me?"

Taemin grinned and Jongin patted one of his paws on the warlock's cheek.

"But I just-... Sometimes I wish you needed my magic more," Jongin admitted in a shy whisper. "I'd like to be more useful to you."

Taemin's smile had fainted and he looked thoughtful, his fingers still holding Jongin's paw gently. He remained quiet for a moment and Jongin felt awkward, wondering if he had said something ridiculous or if Taemin would be annoyed with his request.

"Jongin..."

Jongin widened his eyes, straightening up on his hind paws. Taemin never called him by his name and it struck him with anxiety.

"You don't have to be useful to me, I hope you know that," Taemin said with his softest, most gentle voice.

Jongin blinked in confusion and tilted his head.

"What I mean," Taemin continued, "is that... I understand what you mean, I think I do. But I also don't want you to try to please me as if I'd throw you out if you weren't good enough. We're partners. You're not at my service. I know I tease you a lot because you're so cute when you're upset..."

Taemin smirked at him and Jongin let out a little grumble.

"But," Taemin kept going; and he pressed a finger against Jongin's nose. "You can tell me when you want something. You can tell me when I piss you off... like, really. And you can tell me when you're displeased or dissatisfied. If you want to try out spells and do magic, and you need me, or if you want to experiment things, you can ask all of that from me the same way I ask you if you want to come out get herbs with me or do a potion with me. And I'm sorry if I still fail to make you feel as much a part of my life as you truly are... I mean... I'm used to being alone and when I have ideas... like, this morning... I don't have the instinct to let you be a part of all of that yet. I'm still getting used to us."

"Oh," Jongin breathed out.

He didn't trust his voice to speak just yet, overwhelmed with thoughts and emotions as he was. Taemin tilted his head and caught Jongin's pinky with his.

"You're my familiar but I'm also your warlock, right? I know it must feel weird because you're the one who came into my house but I don't want you to feel like an insert."

"Taeminnie..."

"Yeah?"

Jongin sighed mournfully and Taemin came to pet his head.

"I don't know what to say," Jongin squeaked in a tight voice.

"Just try to tell me how you feel, okay?"

Jongin nodded and, once more, he was glad to be in his bear cub form and that Taemin wasn't able to see him all flustered and blushing.

"Now, baby bear," Taemin said solemnly.

"Yeah?"

"What do you wanna do?"

Jongin fell on his butt and hummed loudly. His choices were vast and with Taemin's little monolog still playing in his head, Jongin was quite sure that his warlock, right then, would indulge in absolutely any of his wishes. Which made his next words quite difficult to choose.

"Would you tell me about your idea from this morning?" Jongin tentatively asked.

"Yes," Taemin cried out. "Yes, actually... I wanted your opinion, you see."

Taemin moved around to get up and he didn't see the way Jongin's face crumbled and darkened as his familiar felt like he had let slip a golden opportunity. Had he known that Taemin planned to tell him everything already, he would have used his _wish_ more cleverly.

But when Jongin noticed how excited Taemin looked at that moment, his face glowing as he turned back to him, the familiar thought he had made an excellent choice in the end. Anything that made Taemin so happy was an excellent choice.

"Come here," Taemin squealed as he ran to his desk.

Jongin waddled behind him as fast as he could. Taemin took the time to pick him up and install him on the stool next to his desk before he shoved his notes under Jongin's snout, eagerly showing him all sorts of drawings he had made already.

"So, listen," Taemin exclaimed and Jongin did just that because he adored listening to his warlock discourse with such happiness and passion written clearly all over his face. "I've been thinking about amulets!"

Taemin rummaged through a couple of papers to get to the one he needed.

"Here! You see! I have this Artifacter friend, we'll have to visit him in the next few days... he's all about amulets and enchanted or cursed objects. And I thought about amulets but you know... there's something I never quite liked about them - amulets and talismans, I mean - it's that, they're volatile. They fickle. Spells really can't be trusted, can they? I mean, you get a protective amulet but the spell trapped inside can still be broken by a counterspell... Some talismans can be rendered useless in a second!"

Taemin snapped his fingers under Jongin's nose and his familiar jolted slightly, his wide eyes going from Taemin's notes to his face.

"Uh... I guess," Jongin nodded.

"You know what can't be broken? You know what can _actually_ be trusted?"

Taemin wiggled his eyebrows and Jongin chuckled softly.

"Potions?"

"Potions!" Taemin peeped. "Potions wouldn't let you down so easily. Just imagine an amulet made out of a stone and a potion... It could be so powerful, especially done by us, let's not lie to ourselves."

Jongin laughed at that and lowered his head to look more into Taemin's researches.

"Potions could be used for a lot of different talismans and could be a lot more effective than some that are made with spells. I'm sure of it. The potions will have to be extremely precise and I'll need Junmyeon's help to find the perfect stones or objects to hold them, you know...

"Junmyeon is your friend who makes amulets?"

"Yeah, that's him..."

Jongin turned to Taemin with a smile.

"I think that's a fantastic idea."

Taemin's whole face brightened in delight at that praise.

"You haven't heard the best part yet!"

"Oh?"

Taemin rubbed his hands together before he tried to find back another specific piece of paper in the mess on his desk.

"I already have an idea for the first amulet we could do. I got inspired by you..."

Jongin straightened on his stool, feeling suddenly extremely important.

"Really?" he squealed, unable to hide how pleased he was.

Taemin tousled the fur on his head, still grinning.

"When you came to save me theother day, you said that you felt I was in danger because of our link."

"Yes, indeed."

"I want to create something like... soulmates amulets," Taemin said breathlessly.

Jongin's jaw fell open in shock and he stared at Taemin through the confused blinks of his eyes. Taemin hummed with enthusiasm and pushed yet another set of notes towards Jongin.

"Look..." he kept going, completely unaware of the turmoil he had put Jongin into. "With our link, we can sense when we're in danger. But it's vague and uncertain. What if we made an amulet that could connect us more deeply? We could make it so that it would tell me whenever you need me, not only when you're in danger. It would be like... a deeper understanding. If you're in emotional distress or scared or need me in any way, I would know it and I would know where to find you. They'd come by two, made specifically for two persons who want connection, like you and me... but it could also be for two warlocks, for example. Or two familiars. It would not only be to deepen the link between a warlock and their familiar, you see what I mean? You can choose to share it with anyone you want. Anyone you truly want to be connected with, to keep them safe."

Taemin turned to look at Jongin, hoping that his familiar was still following his tidal wave of information. Jongin simply nodded, his mouth still open in shock. Taemin smiled and pushed Jongin's jaw closed with a finger. Then he kept going, his voice getting more steady and softer.

"If we put each other's magic inside, it could even be a tie between us, magic you can siphon in case of emergency, you know... That would be the last step though, it's already going to be very complicated without that. The plan, for now, is to develop it as an extension of our bond and something people can use with their most beloved ones."

Taemin finally fell quiet and looked to Jongin expectantly, his eyes shining with joy. Jongin was trying his best not to tremble with emotions as he looked over the notes under his nose but he was too flustered to make out words and understand what he was trying to read.

After a couple of minutes, Taemin nudged him.

"So? What do you think, baby bear?" he asked in a whisper.

Jongin gasped and squirmed on his seat.

"It's-... It's uh-..."

He turned his face and saw Taemin's happiness slowly fading from his eyes the more Jongin remained silent. It slapped Jongin back to reality.

"It's amazing," he breathed out.

Taemin's eyes instantly widened.

"Really?" he asked fervently. "You think so?"

"It's going to take a lot of work," Jongin said very softly as he looked down on the notes once more. "But it's a brilliant idea. Everything about it. Making amulets with potions... and uh... the soulmates... thing."

Taemin fisted his small hands and danced on his seat, pushing Jongin to the right slightly.

"I'm so happy you like the idea! It's so exciting, isn't it?"

"Taeminnie?"

Taemin realized how softly Jongin was looking at him and he hummed gently with a tilt of his head.

"You thought of that because you wanted to be closer to me?" Jongin asked in a murmur.

"Well, yes," Taemin said as if it was very obvious.

It kinda was, but Jongin liked confirmations.

He climbed Taemin's thighs and snuggled against his warlock who sighed but held him tightly.

"I love you, Taeminnie."

Jongin's voice was tiny, almost scared, and Taemin laughed as he leaned forward to press a kiss on his familiar's head.

"I love you too, you emotional baby."

Jongin tried to contain his squeal as best as he could but a soft, low purr came out anyway. It caused Taemin to bit his lip, all jittery that he was to catch Jongin being that cute again.

"But now," Taemin still breathed out. "About the potions..."

Jongin rubbed his head against Taemin's chest and then turned around to sit properly on his warlock's lap and still face the desk. Then he took a long inhale.

"We'll obviously have personalized potions. We could use the same base... but I'm not sure it would work. It's going to be tough, Taeminnie. We'll have to be careful about which object or stone we choose for each amulet, depending on its owner's magic and the magic of their loved one. The base of the potion might have to change depending on the object at the center of the amulet too. We'll have a lot of work for each of those pairs..."

Without a word, Taemin brought before them a page filled with his handwriting, where he had noted down most of those concerns already. Jongin cowered.

"Oh."

"You really are my familiar," Taemin simply said in a fond voice.

He took a quill to write the details Jongin had found. And Jongin purred louder.

_Base potion might change. Choose receptacle, as well as the ingredients, depending on the person – probably ask Junmyeon_, Taemin annotated.

.

.

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ♥ hi lovelies,  
some soft warlock with his baby bear for you ♥  
I hope you're doing well. Take care of yourself until next time!
> 
> find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/moonyki) // [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/Moonyki)


	7. Part of your world

.

Spring had come. In the forest of Agmappul, where Taemin and Jongin lived, the trees got dense again, thick and packed with new foliage that obscured the ground even more. The rare sunny days of winter completely disappeared into deeper darkness. The sun that was shining so brightly in the sky above was out of reach and the forest remained cold, eerie, and unwelcoming. There were very few patches of clearings, lost in remote parts of the woods, where Taemin could go, albeit unwillingly, to find some herbs and plants that couldn't grow without sunshine. The warlock was grumpy every time he had to go find them, or needed to reach the village behind the hill, outside of the forest, when they ran out of banana milk. The new season forced him back into lighter clothes and his large, black hat; only barrier between him and the sunlight he hated with such a burning passion.

Luckily, their garden was shielded by enormous trees of which leaves casted shadows above Taemin's little house. Jongin had been extremely excited the day he had figured out some of those trees where chestnuts and he already couldn't wait to get some of their fruits when the season would come.

Taemin and Jongin were sitting under one of them one late morning; Taemin with his legs crossed in quite an elegant posture, Jongin plopped down on the ground in his large grizzly form, playing with his hind paws.

"So," Jongin chirped happily as he swung back and forth on his butt, "where do we start? What do we do?"

Taemin had a vague, sneaky smile. He had dragged Jongin outside by offering to do some magic together, at last, and his familiar had rushed in the garden before Taemin could even finish his sentence.

"We're gonna share our magic."

Jongin yelped. His eyes widened and he pranced about closer to Taemin. But before he could say anything and let loose of his enthusiasm and happiness, the warlock held out his arm to press his index on Jongin's snout.

"But first, you need to calm down."

"I'm very calm," Jongin squealed.

Taemin tilted his head, an unimpressed expression on his face, and Jongin slowly deflated under his gaze. Then, without a word, Taemin leaned to take Jongin's paws in his hands and bring them on his knees, pulling Jongin forward. He softly ran his small fingers on Jongin's palms to spread his paws, then stood still.

Jongin was looking at him, all curious and waiting, and saw him close his eyes and inhale deeply.

"Close your eyes, baby bear. And calm down."

Jongin half wanted to repeat that he was perfectly calm, mostly in the spirit of contradiction, but decided against it. He knew he wasn't calm. In fact, his heart was beating too loudly and his paws, still under Taemin's palms, were tickling and warm.

He obeyed Taemin, tried to stay as still and straight as he could, and closed his eyes. His breathing was a little loud in the silence around them. Jongin did his best to focus on it and ease his inhales.

"And now?" Jongin whispered.

He heard Taemin's soft chuckle and couldn't help opening one eye. He closed it as soon as he saw that Taemin, despite his faint smile, still seemed focused and serene.

"I need you to relax," Taemin said.

His voice sounded even softer than usual, even deeper. He spoke slowly and each word had a special weight in his mouth that grounded Jongin and made all of his invasive, fleeting thoughts gently disappear. Taemin's thumbs were stroking the inside of Jongin's paws in a lazy motion.

"We need to synchronize our breathings," Taemin continued, always so calmly. "Every time we tried sharing magic, we gave each other too much of it. So, I think we need control. Would you try that with me?"

Jongin hummed softly, too centered on Taemin's voice to breathe out proper words.

"Become aware of yourself, of your magic. And of me. It's only you and me here. We're all that matters."

Jongin's heart fluttered and Taemin must have sensed it somehow because he spoke again.

"Calm down, baby bear," he repeated.

"Sorry."

"It's okay. We have time."

Jongin breathed out quite loudly and tried again to relax. He focused his wandering mind on the feeling of Taemin's hands in his paws, Taemin's knees against his, and the ocean sound of Taemin's breathing that he could hear faintly.

"Can you feel your magic, everywhere in your body? The way it spreads and pulses... How connected it is to your breathing."

"I do," Jongin whispered.

"Can you visualize it?"

Jongin hummed once more. All busy that he was trying to do as Taemin asked of him, he didn't notice the way his breathing calmed down, how it became steadier until it synchronized with Taemin's. They inhaled longly together, held it in, and breathed out. 

Jongin could visualize a black smoke with golden sparkles spreading everywhere in his body with each inhale and retreating with each exhale.

"Try to send a little bit of it to me," Taemin asked. "Just as we breathe. Breathe in and collect it. Breathe out and send your magic to me."

It followed their respirations. Jongin sent little puffs of his magic as he exhaled; it crawled through his fingers and palms, and Taemin breathed it in. Jongin's magic flew and expended through Taemin in waves, causing his heart to speed up.

Finally, as it spread through his limbs and his lungs, Taemin could understand the overwhelming feeling of happiness Jongin had had when they had tried to merge their magic previously. It had been too much at a time for Taemin, overcoming then leaving him too quickly for the warlock to feel it properly.

It was silly, the way it made sense, all of a sudden. Taemin could almost touch their link with how vivid and strong it felt. They were tied to each other because their magics went so well together, complimenting each other.

Taemin couldn't help but smile. As he breathed out, he sent little bits of his magic to his familiar. He heard him gasp softly.

After the first few seconds of surprise and tickling delight, Taemin felt serene in a way he couldn't remember he ever experienced. Having Jongin so close was reassuring, comforting. It made him feel powerful.

"How is it?" Jongin asked in a small voice.

He was trying to contain himself as best as he could and when Taemin opened his eyes, he saw Jongin looking right back at him.

"It's perfect," Taemin said glibly. "Isn't it?"

Jongin seemed to gain confidence with his warlock's words. Their magic flowed through them steadily and they shaped their stream into a circle that spun until they merged perfectly.

"Should we try a little spell?" Taemin asked.

He wiggled his eyebrows dumbly and Jongin snorted.

"Yes, please. Let's try it!"

Taemin pointed to a small stone between them with his chin as he couldn't move his hands without breaking their magic flow.

"We can lift that."

Jongin agreed immediately. It was a very simple magic trick, one that didn't require a particular spell to be recited. It didn't take them too long to adjust their powers, and soon, the little pebble rose. It was quite wobbly at first but got stable after a couple of seconds. Against all odds, the one who got so excited with their little achievement that it broke his concentration was Taemin. He burst in giggles and the stone shook with it, almost dropping to the ground if the warlock hadn't pulled himself together right on time.

"Sorry," he breathed out.

But Jongin was far too pleased to see Taemin as excited as he was to be upset with him for even half a second.

"No worries!"

They got a little more ambitious. They broke their harmony for a moment, only to shake their hands loose and try again. Jongin wanted to see how quickly they were able to synchronize again. They tried to lift progressively bigger objects, then stood up and held only one of their hands together to give another attempt. They played around, made experiences, and finally rolled on the ground until they were breathing loudly from exhaustion, drained of their magic.

Taemin was exhilarated from the sound of Jongin's laugh. He had never heard his familiar laugh so openly and joyfully, despite Jongin always being so honest with his emotions. It was something special to know he had been able to make his friend so happy. It tuned down the worries in the back of his heart: the little insecurities gnawing at him that he was too cold, too odd, too distant, and the doubts that sometimes whispered into his ears that Jongin deserved better than a moody, sneering, forgetful warlock.

"Thank you, Taeminnie."

Taemin turned his head. He was sprawled on the ground and Jongin had turned back into his favorite little bear cub form, sitting next to him.

Jongin came closer and plopped down on Taemin's chest, snuggling to him with a sigh. Taemin stroked his back softly. He didn't want to go back home just then. The grass under them was soft and nice, it was relaxing just to rest for a moment, there, with Jongin curled up against him.

"I'm really happy we took time to do this," Taemin confessed gently.

"Me too."

"Let's do it again soon."

Jongin wiggled and let out an excited little 'Yes!' that Taemin knew he hadn't meant to say out loud. Taemin couldn't help but laugh and Jongin tried to hide his face against his warlock's chest.

"Say, do you have plans for the day, baby bear?"

Jongin looked up from his bowl of warm milk with a little frown and brought one paw up to rub his eye.

"I don't know," he yawned. "Depends..."

"It depends on what?" Taemin smiled.

They were sitting at the table in the kitchen, still barely awake, having breakfast. Taemin's hair was all spiky and tangled, and Jongin hadn't been able to stop scowling since Taemin had broken their hug earlier in bed to get up.

"It depends," Jongin yawned again, "if what you want to do is better than gardening and reading my book, then I am not busy."

Taemin propped his chin in his hand and looked at his familiar fondly.

"What's your book about?"

Jongin's frown deepened and his gaze got lost somewhere over Taemin's shoulder.

"I can't remember," he whispered.

Taemin laughed and Jongin stared at him for a moment before his face softened. He shook his head and lowered his muzzle in his milk with a low grunt.

"I'd like to go see Junmyeon today," Taemin said between two bites on his eggs. "You know, my Artifacter friend..."

"For the amulets?" Jongin asked.

Taemin agreed with a little hum.

"We can go then," Jongin simpered.

Taemin blinked and looked back at him with a smirk.

"I'm glad to have your approval."

Jongin's eyes narrowed into little crescents and Taemin recognized the weird expression on his face as the smug smile his familiar made when he knew he was being an entitled little rascal. It was a little odd sometimes to see a bear try to do such human expressions.

Once they were done with breakfast, Taemin cleaned the kitchen to give Jongin enough time to check on their plants in the greenhouse before their departure. He even had time to clean up, go make their bed, and retrieve his black scarf before he met Jongin by the front door.

When he saw his familiar diligently waiting in the lobby, sat on the ground like a well-behaved child, Taemin couldn't help but smile.

"Are you ready to go?"

"I don't know... Should I bring snacks? How long is the flight? Did you get something for me already?" Jongin chirped as he looked his warlock up and down, expecting him to pull out a bag of sweets from under his large black sweater.

Taemin laughed as he put his shoes on and came closer to his familiar.

"Actually, the flight is really long... Junmyeon lives pretty far away. We should get you a little something to eat."

Jongin pouted.

"How long?"

"Probably five hours... My ass is usually sore as fuck by the time I get there."

Jongin gasped dramatically and Taemin grinned.

"You already agreed to come!"

Jongin opened his muzzle but remained quiet. Something toppled in his eyes that Taemin couldn't quite pinpoint. He tilted his head and called for his familiar, causing him to jolt softly.

"Baby bear, are you alright? Is it an issue that we fly for so long?"

Jongin sighed and squirmed on his butt before he looked up at his warlock.

"Taeminnie... If you want-... If you want, there's a way for us to get there faster."

"Is there?" Taemin asked with a confused pout.

"You could ride me."

His voice was low and shy. Taemin stared at him for a moment, then frowned.

"Ride you?" he repeated dumbly.

Jongin took a long inhale as he wriggled left and right.

"Yes, in my spirit form I mean... This way, I'm big enough for you to climb on my back. And I can be really fast. A lot faster than your broom."

"You'd let me? For real?" Taemin whispered in disbelief.

"Well, yes..." Jongin said softly with a little shrug. "You're my warlock after all. It's quite common, you know..."

Jongin looked at him just in time to see a large grin stretch on Taemin's lips as he fell on his knees to grab his familiar's face in his hands. Jongin widened his eyes as Taemin made a little cooing sound.

"Baby bear," he squealed, "you're so cute!"

"What do you mean?" Jongin complained.

His voice was a little muffled by the way Taemin was squishing his cheeks. Taemin let go of him but kept looking at him fondly.

"Thanks," he said.

There was a tenderness in his voice that melted Jongin's heart. It was a small milestone; it was Jongin showing his trust in Taemin in a new way, and the warlock acknowledged it silently, with his smile only, as not to embarrass his familiar even further.

"You're welcome," Jongin muttered.

Taemin got back up and threw his black scarf on the couch.

"So we don't need this," he said. "But how do we do it? Do we need like... a saddle?"

Jongin huffed in outrage.

"A saddle? I'm not a horse! Saddle yourself, you mean warlock."

Taemin blinked in surprise but soon grinned. As much as he hadn't meant to offend Jongin, he wasn't about to apologize if he had managed to accidentally tease him.

Jongin kept grumbling as he opened the front door and waddled on the porch and into the garden. Without a glance back, he shifted into his spirit form and shook himself. He was still frowning when he turned to Taemin and the warlock took a step back. Jongin's scowl as a baby bear was utterly harmless but his pouting frown when he was in spirit form was something else altogether.

"Are you ready?" Jongin asked with a haughty look.

Taemin tightened his hold on the large bag he had thrown over his shoulder, then locked the door behind him. He trotted to Jongin and scratched his neck gently.

"Yes. Tell me what to do."

Jongin lowered himself on his legs and tilted his head.

"Can you climb?"

Taemin hummed and grabbed a handful of Jongin's hair to haul himself up but his familiar immediately grunted with displeasure.

"Easy on my fur, Taeminnie!" Jongin whined.

"'Sorry, you're high."

"Well, then just say so," Jongin growled.

He lowered himself more and Taemin let go of his fur to pet his shoulder softly. Or where he thought Jongin's shoulder should be; it was difficult to see the outline of the familiar's body cloaked in a dark mist.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you."

Jongin sniffed but his voice was softer when he spoke again.

"It's alright. Can you climb easily now?"

"I think so," Taemin smiled.

He eased himself up slowly, paying close attention to Jongin's reactions, and squirmed on his back until he straddled him. Jongin's fur was soft, his whole body warm and comfortable to sit on. Taemin briefly thought that it would be a lot less rough on his little behind.

"Are you all set?" Jongin asked.

Taemin couldn't help but smile when he heard the very soft rumble of Jongin's low purr behind his voice.

"I think so," Taemin chirped. "Can I hold onto your fur though?"

"As long as you don't pull on it too hard, yes."

Taemin was about to promise he would be careful when Jongin suddenly got back up on his four legs. Taemin gasped in surprise and clasped his small hands on his familiar's shoulders.

"Woah there!"

Jongin laughed and started shaking his body right and left.

"You okay, Taeminnie?"

"It's a lot wobblier than my broom," Taemin complained.

It only caused Jongin to laugh louder.

Jongin walked around the garden slowly, snorting at Taemin's soft gasps, until the warlock felt a little safer on his back.

"Now, listen closely," Jongin said as he kept strolling. "You have to lean on me. Flatten yourself on my back as much as you can, as long as it stays comfortable, alright? You can hold on my fur if it reassures you because we're going to run fast. But most important of all, you must close your eyes. We'll go far faster than what you're used to on your broom and the wind would hurt you if you tried to watch, it could even blind you."

Taemin frowned slightly. Jongin's voice was calm and controlled but it didn't completely comfort Taemin's nervosity.

"Baby bear-..."

"You won't fall."

Taemin blinked and pouted as he leaned over Jongin to put his chin on his familiar's neck.

"Really?"

"I'll hold you with my magic. I promise you, you won't fall. Trust me."

Taemin sighed and tilted his head to press his face in Jongin's fur.

"I trust you."

Jongin's purr got a little louder.

"You're ready?"

"Yeah."

Taemin felt Jongin's magic and mist overwhelm him. It seeped in and around his body, maintaining him in place.

"Remember, Taeminnie, keep your eyes closed."

Taemin shut his eyes immediately and Jongin chuckled softly. Then Jongin walked out of the garden and into the forest.

"Where are we going?" Jongin asked.

Taemin cracked one eye open and hummed.

"Do you know of the bay of Murmurs? Junmyeon lives nearby."

"I do. Alright, let's go then."

Before Taemin could say anything else or even question how Jongin learned about the bay of Murmurs, the familiar began to trot and the warlock hurried to close his eyes once again. The wind grew a little stronger, blowing and whipping against his limbs. Jongin's awkward, wobbly run quickened and Taemin felt his heart soar in fright until he realized that his familiar's movements steadied as he kept speeding up.

Taemin almost wanted to open his eyes but the acute whistling in his ears convinced him not to. It was unpleasant, slightly painful even, but Taemin couldn't bring himself to let go of Jongin's fur to cover his head. Even if he felt Jongin's strong magic holding him in place, it was too scary to stop clinging to him.

Pressed against Jongin's back, Taemin could feel all the muscles of his familiar's back move and roll as he ran at full speed. Taemin's heart thundered; he hadn't felt as exhilarated with fright in a long time and he loved it.

"We left the forest," Jongin chirped.

Taemin jolted slightly and almost opened his eyes. Agmappul was vast and extended on acres and acres around their little home. It usually took Taemin at least twenty minutes of flying to go over it. And yet, it took Jongin a couple of minutes of running to step out of it.

"You're amazing," Taemin yelled.

He heard as much as he felt Jongin laugh loudly.

The bay of Murmurs was surrounded and crowned by an immense rainforest. It was a place Taemin could have seen himself living in if he wasn't so enchanted with his forest. Under the giant trees, the sun was never too rough; and the sea air protected the area from intense heat.

The _plain people_ -humans without a once of magic in them- had called the place haunted and usually avoided it, thus making it an even more enchanting place for a warlock to blossom and give free rein to their magic.

Whispers could be heard through the forest, eerie murmurs carried by the wind, hummed spells from the sirens living in the bay and trying to bait an unsuspecting prey. They were barely distracting to warlocks, and completely useless on familiars, as spirits were immune to the tricks of those creatures.

In that intriguing, slightly creepy, but nonetheless charming place, lived Kim Junmyeon. He had settled many years ago in the heart of the forest and had protected his home with the help of many spells that confused _plain people_'s minds.

Once they had reached the entrance of the rainforest, Jongin had slowed down to let Taemin open his eyes and guide him through the trees. They heard birds singing, a very unusual sound to them, who were so used of creepy cackles into the dark.

Jongin walked far faster in his spirit form than Taemin, and with his warlock's precise instructions it didn't take him too long to reach the waterfall that marked the entrance of Junmyeon's property - although, it had been quite disheartening for Jongin not to stroll around the rainforest more and simply enjoy the view and proximity of so many unfamiliar plants.

Junmyeon's house was concealed behind the falling waters. It was a whole journey to reach him; they had to walk through a large cavern where the sounds of their steps resonated before they found a wild, open-air garden encircled by stones – large rocks covered in protective runes. For a moment, Jongin wondered why Taemin didn't have such heavy protections around their home before he remembered that their best protection were ghosts and demons that would frighten any human who would dare to enter their forest long before they could reach their cabin.

There were plants and trees in Junmyeon's wild garden that Jongin had never even heard of and he couldn't help the gasp of awe and want that he let out as his eyes widened to take them all in.

Taemin went down from his familiar's back and nudged him with a smile.

"Your little gardener heart is smitten, isn't it?"

"It's so pretty..." Jongin sighed.

He shifted back to his bear cub form to have easier access to the plants around him without accidentally destroying them.

"Is your friend really an Artifacter? Are you sure he isn't a green warlock?"

"Yes," Taemin giggled. "You'll have no more doubts once you'll see his house."

Jongin smiled and turned around, frowning when he couldn't see Taemin behind him. He cried out and looked up, only to find himself surrounded by more and more giant bushes.

"Taeminnie? Taeminnie, where are you?"

He heard a small giggle and felt two hands picking him up. Jongin squirmed around and frowned to his warlock.

"Did you try to ditch me?"

"No, silly bear. Follow me and stop getting distracted by pretty flowers."

Taemin was about to put him back to the ground on the little stone path that lead to Junmyeon's house but Jongin clung to him with a little hum.

"Carry me so I don't get lost."

"Or you could just be careful."

"Yah, I just brought you all the way here on my back, don't be ungrateful."

Taemin squinted at him but surrendered and brought Jongin to his chest with a sigh.

"I should have seen that one coming..."

"Yes, you should have," Jongin simpered as he snuggled into Taemin's arms.

Taemin resumed walking and very soon, they caught sight of a vast bungalow with a tiled, curved dark roof, and walls of wood and white rocks. Jongin looked around in unmasked amazement.

"When we get inside, don't touch anything. You hear me, baby bear?"

It took Jongin a few seconds and a couple of little blinks before he looked back at his warlock.

"What? Why? Stop teasing me, you know I will behave!"

"No, I'm serious this time," Taemin said softly in a tone so gentle that Jongin gawked. "Junmyeon is, in fact, an Artifacter. His house is filled with cursed objects. So please, remember not to touch anything without permission, no matter how tempting things look, alright? I don't want anything bad happening to you."

Taken aback by the gravity on his warlock's face, Jongin remained speechless for a moment, only nodding to him.

"And he's the one to say that..."

Jongin jolted in Taemin's arms so hard that he almost fell, and Taemin cursed.

"What the hell?" Jongin cried out as he turned around to come face to face with a deer.

The animal looked at Jongin in wonder, his neck lowered to be on the bear cub's eye level.

"Oh, Minho!" came Taemin's voice. "Hi!"

The deer looked up, snorted, then reported his attention to Jongin.

"Baby bear, that's Minho. Junmyeon's familiar. Or did he tell you already?"

"No, he didn't," Jongin pouted as he hugged Taemin closer and threw a baleful look to the deer.

Minho came closer, exhaled through his nose loudly on Taemin's arm, and pushed his muzzle against the warlock, until Taemin laughed and stroked his head.

"It's been a while."

Jongin tried to push Minho away as discreetly as he could but the deer ended up rubbing his muzzle on Jongin's back.

"Hi there, Taemin's baby bear."

"I'm Jongin. Only Taeminnie can call me baby bear," Jongin simpered.

"Alright, Jongin. Apologies," Minho laughed. "Please, look after your _Taeminnie_. He's the one who usually ends up cursed after each of his visits because he can't keep his little hands in his pockets."

Without leaving any time for Jongin to compose himself and try to defend his warlock, Minho turned into a fawn under their eyes and, freed from his large antlers, ran the rest of the way to push the front door of his house open and disappear inside.

"Let's follow him," Taemin happily chirped, completely unaware of the slander Minho had spilled about him.

Although, if Jongin was completely honest with himself, he couldn't deny that he was practically certain Minho was right. Cursing himself by being too curious sounded completely worthy of Taemin.

As they entered Junmyeon's house and Taemin went through the entrance calling for his friend, Jongin was painfully reminded of Chanyeol's little house. But somehow, even worse.

Where Chanyeol's clutter was composed of a multiple of books and unusual objects piled up by lack of space, Junmyeon's was mostly a happy mess: clothes were thrown over furniture, forgotten piles of plates laying on the edge of a desk, abandoned papers on the floor. Then, here and there, plants were hanging or laying on piles of books. The shelves in every room were filled with odds and ends that were, surprisingly, carefully placed, but everywhere else, chaos reigned.

"Lucifer Almighty," Taemin sighed as he pushed a pile of clothes with his foot. "He's gotten even worse... What a fucking mess."

"I'm so glad you know how to do laundry," Jongin sniffed. "Please don't put me to the ground in here."

Taemin laughed and held him tighter as he kept walking through the living room.

"Where did Minho go?" Taemin muttered before he called louder. "Kim Junmyeon?! Minho?"

Right as he was about to pass through the large french doors leading to the garden, the big leaves of a tall monstera got pushed aside and a young boy appeared. He was quite small, with a round face and thick, dark hair. He looked at Taemin in silence for a moment -enough time for Jongin to widen his eyes and wonder if Kim Junmyeon was actually that young- then he smiled a toothy grin and his eyes crinkled.

"Hi. Master Junmyeon asks for you to wait in the kitchen. He'll be right there."

"Master-... What?" Taemin repeated in a confused tone.

"We're doing magic! Go to the kitchen, we're almost done!"

The boy turned around and disappeared back into the bushes.

Taemin stood frozen, gawking, then he dramatically looked down to his familiar.

"Was that... Minho?"

"What? Of course not!" Jongin frowned. "He wouldn't have shown himself to you like this..."

"I don't know," Taemin grumbled as he turned back into the house. "Baekhyun-..."

"Baekhyun is a crackpot. Decent familiars won't ever show themselves to another warlock unless it's a matter of life and death."

Taemin laughed softly but didn't insist and, instead, headed to where he thought he remembered the kitchen would be.

"Then I have no clue who that was..."

Jongin shrugged in his arms.

They went down an obstructed hallway and ended up in a large room with white cabinets and a table by the broad, open windows. A light wind rustled the curtains, bringing the faint sounds of Junmyeon's voice and the unknown boy's laughter.

Taemin approached the sitting area, grabbed the plate laying on one of the chairs to put it on the table, and took a seat. He pulled another chair next to him but as he tried to push his familiar on it, Jongin clung to him with a whine.

"No, no, no," he pleaded. "I'll stay on your lap. Let me stay here."

"Oh, come on, you're not gonna die being separated from me by twenty centimeters."

Jongin wrestled in Taemin's arms, pushing the other chair away with his hind paw as he groaned and cried out, and that was how Junmyeon found them as he entered his kitchen covered with dirt, his pink hair a mess on top of his head.

When he heard a chuckle, Taemin froze and looked to the entrance with red cheeks; his sudden inattention allowed Jongin to take the upper hand in their fight and sit back on his warlock's lap with all of his weight and a triumphant grin.

"Ouch," Taemin grumbled. "Careful, you annoying, troublesome, clingy baby."

"Sorry," Jongin chirped with the tone of someone who wasn't in the least remorseful.

Taemin sighed heavily and dramatically turned his head to his friend.

"I see you're both getting comfortable already," Junmyeon snorted as he went to the sink to grab a dishcloth and dust his chest. "It's good to see you, Taemin."

"Likewise. I hope we're not bothering you with our impromptu visit."

Junmyeon looked up with wide eyes and shook his hand in the air.

"Not at all, not at all... You know you're always welcome here. I merely hope you're not in trouble. You do tend to get into trouble. You know what, I'll make us a tea... and then we can talk. You can tell me why you're here. And introduce your familiar... I was really glad to learn you got your familiar; I know you waited for them for long. Now, where is my teapot?"

As he babbled away, Junmyeon took little steps left and right, washing his hands and looking around on his counters in search of his teapot. Taemin followed his busy gibbering with an amused smile and a little snort.

"It's right here," Taemin said as he leaned over Jongin to reach the white teapot with big yellow polka-dots put on the windowsill.

He didn't see Junmyeon freeze on his feet but he heard him shriek loudly.

"Not that one!"

Taemin jolted, bringing Jongin with him. Junmyeon turned around at light speed, flailing dramatically.

"Do not touch that teapot!" Junmyeon yelled.

"Lucifer Almighty, Junmyeon, don't yell like this!" Taemin screamed back as he put one hand over his racing heart.

"Don't touch it! Under any circumstance!"

"Why?" Taemin groaned. "Is it cursed?"

Junmyeon threw a dishcloth over the offensive teapot; his eyes were wild as he stared at Taemin gravely.

"Precisely!"

Taemin threw him a mocking glance.

"A cursed teapot? What could it do to me?"

"Kill you. It _would _kill you!"

Taemin opened his mouth but didn't say anything as he withstood Junmyeon's distraught, solemn look. Having people tell him not to do something always brought a sly, insidious temptation into Taemin's mind and he was fighting the will to put even just one finger on the teapot as Junmyeon stared at him, knowing full well what was happening in Taemin's nutty head.

Then Taemin felt Jongin nudging him harshly.

"Don't touch the damn teapot, Taeminnie," he whined in a quavering voice.

Taemin blinked, sighed, shrugged nonchalantly, and then sat back against his chair as his hands wrapped around Jongin's round body.

"Alright, I won't touch it."

Junmyeon breathed out heavily in relief as he took a few tentative steps backward.

"And you were the one saying I should be careful," Jongin grumbled.

He turned around to give Taemin a disapproving look to which the warlock only smiled.

"Yes, you have to."

With slightly trembling limbs, Junmyeon kept opening his cupboards until he found both his kettle and teapot, and began brewing a jasmine tea. He was painfully remembering why he hadn't missed Taemin's visits that much.

He heard Taemin bicker with his familiar softly behind his back but couldn't really understand the conversation when he only heard half of it.

"Master Junmyeon?"

The three people in the kitchen all turned to the open window where the little brunet boy Taemin and Jongin had briefly met appeared, Minho by his side.

"Yes? What is it?"

"I've finished my reading, may I go to the waterfall with Minho?"

Junmyeon softened visibly and smiled gently.

"Sure. Just be careful, as always."

"We will!"

Junmyeon then turned to his guests and looked more precisely to Jongin.

"They're going swimming, would you like to join them?"

Jongin widened his eyes in surprise to be addressed directly. He glanced at the boy, then Minho, then Junmyeon, and shook his head shyly. He already didn't want to leave Taemin's lap so there was no way he would go away out of the house and into the wild with those unknown individuals when Taemin was there, always seconds away from cursing himself accidentally -or willingly-.

"He kinda sticks to me like glue," Taemin giggled. "But thanks for offering."

"No problem," Junmyeon nodded.

"If you change your mind, you're welcome anytime," the young boy told Jongin before he ran away. "Come on, Minho! 'last one there is a moldy potato!"

Minho huffed and started running after the boy, quickly disappearing between bushes.

The kettle whistled and Junmyeon went back to preparing their tea.

"Who was that?" Taemin asked.

"Mhmm? Oh, it's Jinki," Junmyeon answered as if all would be clear to his friend with that simple information.

Taemin frowned.

"Yeah, alright... What is he doing here?"

Junmyeon came back to them with tea and rice cakes and sat down in front of Taemin. He offered a gentle smile to Jongin and poured them three cups of tea. He had brought a metal straw that he slid to the bear familiar so he could drink easily too, and Jongin's eyes shone in gratitude.

"Well, he's my apprentice, of course!" Junmyeon smiled.

"Your-... Oh!" Taemin breathed out.

"Apprentice? Warlocks get apprentices?" Jongin asked curiously as he looked up to Taemin.

"Yes," Taemin said. "When a warlock child is 12, they traditionally choose a field of expertise and will go learn about it with a confirmed warlock for a while... Usually a few years."

Jongin exhaled in awe.

"It's a very down-to-earth custom though," Junmyeon added. "Apprentices are allowed to change their mind after a few years, some even purposedly try out a few different fields with various warlocks until they decide what they want to do. It allows them to see which branch of magic feels good and right to them."

"That's very interesting," Jongin whispered.

Junmyeon only heard a little groan from him but he still grinned as he brought his cup of tea to his lips.

"I suppose Jinki doesn't know yet that there are more interesting things to do than take care of enchanted objects," Taemin teased.

Jongin hit him softly as Junmyeon spit his tea with a hard frown.

"Stop being rude," Jongin complained. "You're embarrassing."

"Well," Junmyeon said, as he hadn't heard Jongin, "I'll have you know Jinki adores learning about everything that makes an Artifacter! He's extremely good at it!"

"That's just because he didn't properly learn the art of Potions, I suppose," Taemin simpered.

Junmyeon scowled. But before he could begin to complain and get worked up, he saw Taemin's teasing smirk and realized who he was talking to. Namely: a brat.

"Is that an offering to take him in, then?" Junmyeon suddenly asked. "Would you like to teach Jinki about Potions? Should I pack his bag so he can leave with you and stay with you for the next three years? Is that what you want?"

Taemin suddenly went still. He paled visibly, swallowed his spit, and heard Jongin snicker on his lap.

"Badness gracious! Don't curse me with a kid," Taemin whined.

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

"My home is too small for a kid anyway. I don't want anything to do with them! Besides, I barely even got Jongin yet... It's much to adapt to already."

Junmyeon laughed snidely behind his cup of tea.

"If you were even remotely thinking about it, please forget it," Taemin whispered as he looked down at Jongin who was drinking his tea with his straw.

Jongin opened his mouth and shook his head.

"Oh no, I'd much rather stay alone with you."

"Very good. I agree."

"Now," Junmyeon said with a pointed look but an amused smile still playing on his face, "will you tell me what brought you here today? Why would such a great Potions master as yourself need the help of a humble, useless Artifacter...?"

Taemin pouted slightly.

"Don't be so dramatic. You know I was just joking... And I'm sorry."

"Apologies accepted. Still, what can I do for you?"

Taemin relaxed and finally told Junmyeon about his thoughts and his incredible project. He tried to explain himself as best as he could but Jongin often came to his rescue, cheeping and whispering little corrections to Taemin's explanations, and reminding him of a few details they had already discussed.

Junmyeon listened intently and didn't interrupt them even once. But he did watch them closely.

Junmyeon had known Taemin for a very long time. He was, in fact, one of Taemin's oldest friends. Even though they weren't as close as Taemin was to Jonghyun, his childhood neighbor and dearest friend, they had grown intimate enough for them to be perfectly comfortable around each other. Enough for Taemin to relentlessly tease him at any chance he got. And enough for Junmyeon to be able to pretend he knew that original warlock quite well.

Taemin was a peculiar person, even for a warlock, that was the least anyone could say. He was difficult to get close to, mostly because he wasn't interested in anything that wasn't potions or very specific aspects of magic. Taemin was a hardworking man who usually threw himself body and soul into any little subject that managed to catch his attention long enough. And people very rarely sparked his interest, even less so his affection.

Taemin wasn't _affectionate_. He could be kind, polite, and even caring if he wanted to -the problem was that most of the time, he'd rather be a teasing little shit- he definitely was loyal, impossibly clever and resourceful, but in the very long list of his wonderful qualities, 'affectionate' was nowhere to be found. And Junmyeon knew it was a lack that had already cost Taemin a lot.

And yet, as inexplicable as it was, Junmyeon sat there listening to Taemin, whom he thought he had come to know well through the years, explaining him about his latest obsession, and he watched as Taemin cuddled his familiar, asked for his opinion, looked over him with gentle eyes, and petted him fondly.

As much as it was a very unusual -and actually quite troubling- sight to behold, Junmyeon was smart enough not to comment on it too obviously and directly. The last thing he wanted was for Taemin to feel embarrassed and withdraw to his reserved, distant self. If his familiar had somehow been able to pierce through Taemin's thick, massive shell, then Junmyeon could do nothing but rejoice.

"You two seem to be pretty close already," Junmyeon said softly, very carefully, when Taemin was done telling him about his new idea.

The smile that Taemin graced him with put Junmyeon into even greater disbelief.

"We do, don't we?" Taemin chirped with a scrunch of his nose. "Jongin came to me a couple of months ago, you know. He's awfully needy and clingy but look at him... how could anyone refuse him anything? This is my curse. I'm at the mercy of this little demon-eater. I'm constantly trying to resist his puppy eyes and failing more often than not."

His tone was so tender and adoring that Junmyeon and Jongin, despite barely knowing each other, shared a common look of incredulity, that, in Jongin's case, soon morphed into utter happiness.

"I will remember this," Jongin cheered.

"Oh, surely you will," Taemin sighed with a roll of his eyes.

Junmyeon coughed softly and Taemin looked back at him with an easy, comfortable smile, as if he hadn't even realized how strangely he had acted. Junmyeon decided to change the subject before his friend could grow suspicious.

"So. Those amulets you want to make..."

"Yes," Taemin said as he straightened up on his seat. His face turned serious again. "What do you think?"

"It's-... It's extravagant. Wild and almost outrageous, I would say. It sounds complicated, with very little chances of success... which makes it all a perfect subject of study for you, I must admit."

Taemin's grin widened impossibly and he couldn't help chuckling.

"Thank you!"

"That's such an interesting thought... Amulets and potions... I'm almost mad that I haven't thought of it myself... I mean-... I'm the Artifacter here. Amulets are my job. But it's also... too eccentric and arduous for me."

"Will you help us?"

"Of course, I will help you!" Junmyeon exclaimed. "I'm very glad you came to me. I can help you find the correct objects to turn into your amulets... I have books to help you too. I can-... I need to show you some parts of my grimoire that could interest you. Some are still researches in my book of shadows though... but anyway, I have a lot of documentation for you! It's all very exciting and you must absolutely share with me the development of that project, even the failures! Taemin, you must promise."

Taemin hid a laugh behind his hand but nodded quickly.

"I promise!"

Junmyeon looked down at Jongin with a frown.

"Please Jongin, make sure he doesn't forget about me. This is some incredible experience about amulets, you must share your discoveries with me!"

Jongin grunted softly and nodded. Junmyeon winked at him.

"Thanks. I'll be counting on you."

Jongin puffed out his chest and Taemin tickled his ribs playfully until his familiar lost that superior look on his face.

"There's something though..."

Junmyeon's soft, careful voice brought Taemin's attention back on him.

"What is it?"

Taemin was calm suddenly. Jongin noticed the meaningful look the two warlocks were giving each other and he suddenly felt as if he was missing some very important, quiet talk between the two of them. But as far as he knew, warlocks weren't telepaths.

"You'll need to see an Elementalist," Junmyeon murmured.

"I expected you would say so."

"Do you think-...?"

"I'll go see him. It will be fine. Don't worry."

"Maybe there's someone else?"

"Oh please," Taemin smiled softly. "Elementalists are so rare, it's already wonderful that I know one. I won't waste time searching for another. I promise it will be fine."

Junmyeon closed his mouth but still looked quite worried and Jongin was too bothered by that tacit, evasive conversation to even think about asking what an Elementalist was.

He squirmed on Taemin's lap to face his warlock and breathed out when Taemin looked down at him with a cute smile.

"What's wrong, Taeminnie?"

"Nothing, baby bear. Don't worry."

Jongin frowned. Taemin already had to push away Junmyeon's worries and Jongin didn't want to end up annoying him by insisting but he was also very curious. Just as he was about to ask further, Taemin leaned to press a kiss on the top of his head and whisper against his fur:

"I promise it's all fine. Let's drop the subject."

Jongin sighed but didn't say anything else. Meanwhile, Junmyeon was stunned on his seat from the sight of Taemin_ kissing _his familiar so casually.

Taemin straightened back and looked at Junmyeon.

"Now, can you tell us what to do to find the perfect objects for our amulets?"

Junmyeon looked pleased, all of a sudden, a sneaky grin stretching on his lips.

"That, my dear Taemin, is one of the specialties of an Artifacter. It involves knowledge that takes years to learn, along with heavy researches for each new amulet one wants to create. Especially for amulets such as the ones you want to make. Your amulet, for example, must represent Jongin's magic while still fitting and adapting to yours. A subtle piece of work."

"Oh bother," Taemin grunted.

"To put it simply, you can either become an Artifacter's apprentice or let me do my complicated job."

Taemin sighed with an amused smile.

"Alright, Great Master. Would you please help us and tell us which object we should choose that would match our magics?"

"Oh but certainly," Junmyeon simpered pompously. "I will only need a little bit of your blood. Then, Jinki and I will get on with researches and I will let you know as soon as we find what could fit you both."

.

.

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there,  
thank you so much for reading & supporting this fic ♥♥  
I really hope you liked meeting Junmyeon, Minho, & Jinki in this chapter!
> 
> find me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/moonyki) // [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/Moonyki)


	8. Something there (that wasn't there before)

.

Taemin had wanted to meet his Elementalist friend on the following day. He was so excited over his idea of merging potions and amulets that he couldn't think of anything else. Each and every one of his thoughts always brought him back to calculations over the ingredients he could use and the material he would need.

It came as no surprise to Jongin that Taemin would let his new project become his utmost priority, to the detriment of absolutely anything else. But the little bear cub was having none of that workaholic, obsessed nonsense.

"We can't go today, Taemin," Jongin said when he saw Taemin already preparing for their long trip to the island his friend lived on.

"And why can't we?" Taemin snorted while putting his boots on.

"Have you forgotten which day tomorrow is?"

Taemin froze, one leg up, and frowned. With a sigh, he moved to the calendar pinned to the wall under the stairs, grumbling like a dwarf. The next day was heavily circled in black ink but Taemin hadn't written any indication whatsoever and he couldn't remember the precise thing that his past self had obviously tried so hard not to forget.

"What is it? Your birthday?" Taemin grunted.

Jongin huffed.

"It's finally time to redo the potion you failed when I arrived," he said. "The breaker of mind-control. Tomorrow is the day your friend Jonghyun told us would be perfect to try it again."

Taemin let out a small exclamation and turned back to his familiar with wide eyes.

"By all the demons in Hell!"

"We can't let the opportunity pass again, can we? If we start at midnight, we'll have some preparations to do. Or don't you want to do it anymore?"

Taemin opened his mouth, closed it again, then walked to the couch and sat with his arms crossed, sulking.

Jongin tried his hardest not to laugh -as not to make things even worse for his warlock- and waddled to him, climbing on the sofa to sit next to him.

"Taeminnie?"

"This is so annoying," Taemin complained with a pout. "It's such a long potion! We'll be trapped in the house for over three weeks, looking after it. I don't want to postpone everything for three weeks!"

"We don't have to do it... After all, we don't exactly need it."

"But I want to do it," Taemin whined. "I've wanted to for half a year because it's such a complicated potion. I need to succeed in doing it. Besides, if we ever need it, we'll be extremely happy not to have to wait for weeks to get it."

Jongin breathed out deeply and patted Taemin's thigh firmly.

"Stop sulking. Here is what we're going to do..."

"I'm not sulking."

Jongin gave him a pointed look and Taemin pulled out his tongue.

"For your own good, I'm going to pretend that I didn't see this," Jongin snorted. "Now, listen to me. We had a lot of useful potions to redo anyway... I'm pretty sure we can busy ourselves filling up with healing ointments and potions for the next few days while also looking after the breaker of mind-control. Won't you be happy, staying home doing lots of potions?"

Taemin looked at him from the corner of his eyes with a little smirk.

"You're coaxing me with the promise of cooking up potions for days on end?"

"Is it working?"

"Maybe," Taemin simpered.

Jongin smiled and tilted his head slightly, melting Taemin's heart in the process.

"I know you're very excited to go on with our amulets but it can wait. I've read a lot about the breaker of mind-control; it's only extremely sensitive and time-consuming in the first week. Then it's mostly monitoring and I'll be here to help. So once it will only need us to be around to stir it a little, we can go back to our researches for the amulets, can't we? Junmyeon will need time to get back to us anyway. Think of it as in... luckily, you have something to busy yourself with until Junmyeon has answers for us."

Taemin remained silent. He squinted, giving a suspicious look to his familiar who started squirming on his butt hoping he didn't say anything silly.

"You know how to talk me down things now... You've evolved," Taemin whispered.

"I have you figured out," Jongin said proudly.

Taemin began to laugh. He slumped against his couch with a sigh.

"I suppose you're right... I mean, we should do as you said."

"Even if we can't go see your friend, maybe we can invite him next week or so..."

Taemin hummed with a distant look but Jongin decided not to dwell on it. Then, the warlock let out another forlorn, loud exhale and reluctantly took his shoes off, before dramatically turning to his familiar.

"Let's get to work."

Jongin squealed with delight.

They started by making a list of all the potions and ointments they needed to stock up on. Jongin had pointed out that Kyungsoo had asked them, a few days ago, to be careful and prepare for eventual demonic attacks. Thus, Taemin planned a multitude of healings potions for all kinds of injuries: burns, cuts, bites, scratches, contusions, broken bones, and any other horror he knew how to soothe and treat.

Then, they prepared all the ingredients for the arduous, strenuous potion able to break a mind-control caused by any spell, potion, or demonic power. As he opened his heaviest book of potions to find the recipe again, Taemin finally fell into the usual elation he felt whenever he could try a particularly troublesome concoction.

They worked together most of the time, Jongin stirring the potion with two paws holding the big iron spoon in the cauldron while Taemin intoned softly over the fire or added some freshly cut disgusting ingredients to the mix. But sometimes, as Taemin kept a close eye on his most delicate potion, Jongin was preparing some healing ointments in the little corner of their garden that they had converted into a small workplace so the emanations of their elixirs wouldn't mix and ruin each other. It also provided Jongin privacy. He needed to shift into his human form to prepare a whole potion alone and he still felt too shy and embarrassed to do so in front of his warlock.

Stocking up on curative potions proved to be an exceptionally clever idea when one day, Jongin came back home hurt from hunting down demons across the forest. Taemin had been in one hell of a state when he found his familiar lumping in the garden with a bleeding bite on his small leg, and he had rushed over to help him. Jongin had tried to calm him down, rolling his eyes, assuring him that it was _nothing_ and that it barely hurt and that really, Taemin should have seen the state of the demon after Jongin had been done with them – the warlock kept fuming, grumbling under his breath that he would burn the forest to the ground if _something_ hurt his baby bear again and Jongin soon stopped trying to reason him, and instead enjoyed the feeling of being pampered and taken care of.

But Taemin's worries hadn't stopped Jongin from gamboling through the forest under the pretext that even though Kyungsoo had managed to close the Hell's gate near their home at some point, some powerful demons still had come out and needed to be eradicated. Taemin ultimately had to acknowledge – against his will – that his tiny baby bear only came back with minor wounds that could be treated quickly and that he was clearly the biggest threat and most powerful beast in their woods. So he let him wipe out demons to his heart's content, only reminding him to _please_ be careful every time Jongin came back home with a scratch a little nastier than usual.

Jongin was out for a snack when Jongdae landed with some difficulty in the minuscule clearing not far from Taemin's cabin. The crows around the property warned the warlock of his guest by croaking loudly in the garden until Taemin peeked through his window just in time to see his friend appearing between trees, close enough to be seen.

Taemin was surprised, to say the least, since Jongdae hadn't come to see him in a very long time. So long, in fact, that he couldn't properly remember when he had last seen his friends in his living-room. To be completely honest, Taemin wasn't that used to welcoming guests since Kyungsoo was probably the only warlock who wasn't scared to visit him. That was the burden of living in a haunted forest – burden that Taemin was very thankful for more often than not.

Taemin usually received visits when his friends needed some potions; and it proved to be the case once more. Jongdae asked for sleeping potions, chatting about this and that as he all but discreetly glanced right and left. When Taemin inquired what he was playing at, Jongdae feigned surprise for a second before he huffed, finally confessing the subject of his offense.

"Well, now," he scowled, "I've heard that everyone and their cousins met your familiar already but I still haven't... Me, the one who helped you get in touch with him in the first place. You went all across the country introducing him around, you even went all the way to Junmyeon's, but-..."

Taemin rolled his eyes with a grin and interrupted him in the middle of his lamentation.

"Calm down, it wasn't planned that way. I haven't even visited Jonghyun yet."

"He got a phone call, at least!" Jongdae whined.

Taemin shook his head and lead his friend to the kitchen with Minseok on their heels; the cat was following them closely as if he was scared to be left alone without his warlock in that odd, dull, scary cottage.

"My baby bear ain't home right now... Do you want something to drink while we wait for him?"

"With pleasure," Jongdae simpered.

Just as Taemin put some water in his kettle and pushed it on the stove to boil, they heard a loud, blaring, rumbling growl run through the forest, causing the trees to tremble and masses of birds to take off flying. Minseok hissed and Jongdae's hair stood on end as he stared at Taemin, who looked as peaceful and unbothered as ever.

"What was that?" Jongdae asked in a high-pitched tone.

Taemin looked at him over his shoulder and smirked proudly.

"Jongin."

He relished in the look of stupor and awe on Jongdae's face.

Minseok meowed loudly and the two warlocks looked down to him in wonder. Taemin watched as the cat screamed and turned around Jongdae impatiently.

"Well yes, it seems his name is Jongin... No, I didn't know... Oh, but I didn't think it was of importance! And why exactly is it important?"

Right as Taemin was about to ask if something was the matter, they all heard the door open and the kettle whistle at the same time. Cursing under his breath, Taemin quickly pushed the kettle away to race to the living-room behind Minseok who leaped to the entrance.

Jongin was singing to himself as he bumped the door close with his butt and turned around to face his welcoming committee. Taemin had expected him to get scared and shy, probably to look up to him in distress, waiting for his warlock to save him from too much-unwanted attention. And Taemin had been so ready to jump in and pick him up to protect him; but instead, Jongin cried out in happiness.

"Minseok?!"

Under both warlocks' stunned faces, the two familiars jumped at each other, awkwardly hugging and purring in concert. They fell to the ground, cuddling as they rolled left and right with little cries of happiness, and Taemin frowned as he heard Jongin whine about how long it had been, how much he had missed him, and such things.

"What's going on?" Taemin mumbled lowly, his voice swallowed by Minseok's loud meows.

"I have so many things to tell you," Jongin chirped, hugging the cat in his small arms. "So many things!"

Minseok meowed something that Taemin couldn't comprehend, and Jongdae snorted next to him, a smirk playing on his lips.

"It looks like those two know each other..."

"No shit, Sherlock," Taemin sighed with a roll of his eyes and he winced when Jongdae nudged him harshly.

Jongin wasn't paying any attention to his warlock at all, which, on top of being slightly hurtful to Taemin, was astounding, to say the least. Taemin heard him blabber to Minseok about his bedroom (_theirs_) and his garden (also _theirs_), saying that he should show him around as they would talk about so many things, and the warlock was so impossibly blown away by the whole situation that he didn't even know how to react when he saw his little bear cub – the snotty brat who had become the apple of his eyes – waddle away, chirping about his greenhouse (that one could be considered Jongin's only, at this point) to his friend.

"What the heck?" Taemin frowned as they heard the back door in the kitchen open and close.

Jongin hadn't even looked at him. And Taemin was left alone with Jongdae, who nonchalantly sat on the couch with a little sigh as if everything that had just happened was perfectly normal.

"So, can I get that tea?"

"Tea?" Taemin repeated dumbly.

"You offered me some tea just earlier."

Still very much frowning, Taemin turned on his heels, pouting as he emptied his kettle into his teapot. He looked sullen when he came back into the living room, put his trail on the coffee table, poured them each a cup of tea, then stared at his guest.

"How does your familiar know my familiar?" he abruptly asked with a sour expression that wouldn't quite go away yet.

Jongdae threw him a cheeky glance over his mug.

"You still don't know much about familiars, do you?"

Taemin squinted.

"What do you mean?"

"I suspect you haven't read any book or encyclopedia about familiar spirits," Jongdae simpered.

Taemin stared at him balefully and Jongdae snickered.

"Ah, Taemin-ah... You should open a book that isn't about potions or dark spells once in a while."

"Will you just tell me what you know instead of beating around the bush for fuck's sake?"

Jongdae crossed his legs and cupped his warm mug in both hands as he relaxed against the cushions.

"My guess is that they grew up together. Now that I think about it, I recall Minseok telling me about one of his siblings being called Jongin."

"They're siblings?" Taemin gasped.

It didn't make a lot of sense to him; a cat and a bear being siblings; but he didn't want to question Jongdae's explanations, for fear of his friend grumbling at him and not saying anything else.

Jongdae remained silent for a couple of seconds, then he tilted his head.

"Alright, do you at least know about how familiars are born?"

Taemin's eyes widened and he had the decency to blush slightly as he shook his head, painfully admitting his ignorance. It wasn't his fault, truly, that they were so many fascinating books about potions and so little interesting ones about literally anything else.

Jongdae sighed for the show but Taemin knew that deep down, he was probably happy to spread out his knowledge.

"Familiars are born when a young animal is killed from unnatural causes," Jongdae explained gently. "By that I mean: when they're killed by magic in any way. Their souls go through the Limbo to be reborn as spirits."

"Are you telling me my baby bear is _actually_ a baby bear?" Taemin whispered.

"No, you dunce. I'm telling you that Jongin was a baby bear in his past life. He was reincarnated into a bear familiar."

Taemin breathed out with a smile, uncaring of the slight insult he had just received. But his smile soon froze as he completely took in what Jongdae had said. He had never really thought that deeply about familiars, or spirits in general, for the matter, but the explanation as to how Jongin had come to life sent shivers down his spine.

It wasn't a pleasant thought to think about what his little bear cub had been through in his former life.

"Jongin has no recollection of it," Jongdae said kindly. "That's the principle of reincarnation. His essence remains but he is a different person."

"Yeah..." Taemin sighed for a lack of a better thing to say.

"We do not know more about familiars' birth and early days. That's a secret kept solely amongst their kind, but we do know that at a young age, they're sent to a teacher. Those teachers are another kind of spirit who protects and guides the familiars until they are called to their warlocks. Minseok told me that there are always three siblings living together with one guardian. When a familiar is called away, another young one will come to take their place. They rotate this way and always remain a trio."

Taemin nodded distractedly to Jongdae's every word, growing suddenly very curious as to how his little Jongin grew up.

"So Minseok and Jongin lived together with another sibling?"

"I believe so, yes," Jongdae smiled.

"And who was that teacher, then? What kind of spirit can educate familiars?"

Jongdae glanced at him for a while, sipped on his tea, and finally looked away.

"Those are questions you should ask Jongin," he said. "I think his childhood is his story to share, you know. And he'll probably be happy to tell you all about it..."

Taemin couldn't help the little pout that bloomed on his face.

"I don't know about that," he mumbled. "I mean, yeah... You're right about the fact that I should ask him. But... he's a little private sometimes. I don't know if he'll feel comfortable sharing all of that with me."

"Give him time. You two have only known each other for a couple of months, have you? It took a lot more for Minseok to open up... but when he did, it felt very special."

Taemin refrained from whining that he knew about that, that Jongdae had already told him a thousand times about how long Minseok had waited to feel comfortable around him, or even to mumble that Baekhyun – Chanyeol's familiar – had taken a lot less. He felt like they had had that conversation too many times. He knew it all. He knew that it would all depend on Jongin and he was fine with waiting, most of the time.

"Did you give him clothes?"

Jongdae's sudden question took Taemin out of his musings.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"Did you give Jongin some clothes?" Jongdae repeated, then snorted when he saw Taemin's round, lost eyes. "It would be nice to give him something to change into so he doesn't walk around naked when he's in human form. Most familiars don't mind being in the nude, but some do. It might help to make him more comfortable with the idea of shifting in front of you... "

Taemin blinked quickly as he realized just how right Jongdae was. Then he realized that Jongin had been walking around bare-bottomed every time he shifted in the greenhouse or, lately, in their garden, preparing potions. He laughed at the thought.

"Thanks, I'll do that."

"It's little gestures like that that will help you. Jongin won't open up overnight, you know. Give him clothes, show interest in him, his past, his hobbies, help him feel safe here... Then, eventually, he'll be at ease."

Taemin threw his head against the backrest, staring at the ceiling with a little scowl.

"Don't be condescending," he sulked. "You sound like you're teaching me how to make friends."

Jongdae sniggered behind his cup of tea and Taemin straightened up before he kicked him in the shin. Jongdae yelped and glared at him, rubbing his leg with a bitter face.

"Well, I thought you could use the help."

"Go to Hell."

"You first."

Taemin stuck out his tongue and Jongdae mimicked him.

They heard laughter from outside and both turned to the kitchen. Distorted through the glazed doors, they saw their two familiars walking around the garden happily.

"I have a question though..." Jongdae mused.

"Shoot."

"Is Jongin happy here?"

When he saw Taemin's half-offended, half-worried expression, Jongdae hastened to explain further.

"I mean... not like, with you. Is he happy in that creepy, haunted forest...? This is a place of nightmares, for real. So... is he okay?"

Taemin relaxed slightly and shrugged.

"Yeah."

Jongdae frowned.

"Are you sure? I know you love that place... Lucifer knows you love it so much you won't listen to anyone telling you you should leave. Not even a freaking Demonologist. But like... be careful with Jongin, I guess? Does he love it here? Does he feel safe?"

Taemin's expression darkened. It was something to have people question his sanity when he insisted he wanted to live in those cursed woods but it was something else to have his friend question his ability to protect Jongin.

"I told you he's fine," he said sharply. "Jongin loves it here, he told me so himself. He eats demon for breakfast and you can trust me when I say that he's actually on the top of the food chain of our forest."

"He eats demons?" Jongdae gasped, bewildered.

"He mauls them and then eats them when they taste good enough," Taemin blurted, not without a small, sneaky pride.

Jongdae remained flabbergasted for a minute before he breathed out loudly and nodded to himself.

"I see," he whispered. "It makes sense, then. It makes sense."

Taemin wasn't sure what he meant by that but he didn't want to ask about it. No matter how curious he was about Jongdae's knowledge concerning familiars, he was still a little hurt by his mistrust and didn't want to appear ignorant once more.

Instead, Taemin looked down at his cup of tea. He thought about the countless times each of his friends had tried to convince him to move out to any dark places that wouldn't host ghosts and demons.

"There's a village outside the woods," Taemin said softly, his eyes still locked on his drink. "It's hidden behind the hill. I go there maybe once or twice a month... There's a little store that sells excellent banana milk."

Jongdae raised one eyebrow but kept quiet.

"Before Jongin arrived, I was the biggest threat around here," Taemin continued. "I know what kind of monstrosities hide in my woods. They all gather around because the Hell gate gives them more power. So, I keep them in check. And I know that as long as I'm here, they'll behave. As long as I'm here, they'll stay in the woods. If I leave, the village will probably get wiped out overnight."

He spoke in a calm, gentle voice and Jongdae froze on his seat, eyes wide.

"That's why you-...?"

"My Master used to live here. I mean, the Potion Master who taught me everything... Old Ahn Minsik. I moved in when he became too old to watch over the woods. So I won't leave. If the situation ever becomes too difficult for Jongin, then I'll seek a new guardian but for now, he loves living here. So we stay. And I'd like not to have to justify myself to my friends anymore."

Jongdae's shoulders slumped and he softened visibly with the guilt of having misjudged the situation for so long. He didn't have to wonder why Taemin never told them so before. He knew that his friend probably didn't care. He didn't care what they all thought until Jongdae awkwardly and accidentally questioned his ability to care for Jongin.

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright, don't worry about it," Taemin shrugged. "I know you all just tried to keep me alive. But now... you know. You can go tell everyone about it so I won't have to explain myself again. Also, I may not know as much as you do about familiars, but don't imply that I don't take care of Jongin or don't listen to him. I love him dearly and I would kill everything in this forest with my bare hands for him. If I say that he's happy here, it's because he is."

Jongdae stammered apologies piteously, trying to explain that he didn't mean to patronize him and promising to be more careful in the future, and Taemin quickly dismissed the subject because he didn't want to linger in those queasy feelings. He had never handled apologies that well. Instead, he hastily started talking about Potions – a safe subject – and explained to Jongdae his latest discoveries and trials.

Both warlocks were so absorbed in their awkward talk, clumsily waltzing around each other's delicate feelings, that they didn't notice the two pairs of little ears perking up by the open window, or the four round, dark little eyes watching them closely.

Slowly, as not to attract unwanted attention, the little snouts of the two familiars withdrew from the windowsill and they both lowered to the ground on all fours before they trotted away under a nearby tree.

Jongin was flustered. Immensely so.

Seeing Minseok again was a joy he hadn't expected to experience if he was honest. So many times he had wished to see his older brother again after Minseok had left the nest a decade ago, but every time he had expressed that little dream of his out loud, he had been told that it was rare for familiars siblings to meet again. His teacher had repeated him over and over again that it would depend on where they would be sent to and if their warlocks would belong to the same Circle.

And yet, so unexpectedly, Minseok had appeared in his home. They had had so many things to tell each other, so many things to catch up on. But the first thing Minseok had asked, almost with urgency, was if Jongin was treated well.

The small cat had known Taemin far longer than Jongin after all, and he had admitted his very conflicted feelings towards the strange, messy, distant warlock, hoping that he never made his brother feel unwanted or unwelcome. Thus, hidden in the greenhouse, before even inquiring about Minseok's well-being, without troubling themselves over small talk, and with that feeling of naturalness that only comes between siblings or very old friends despite not seeing each other for ten years, Jongin had confessed in hushed tones that Taemin was perfect. As perfect as a warlock could be to him. With all of his quirks and oddness, even when he was chaotic or messy, even when he was in a bad mood or lacking sleep, Jongin adored him.

Minseok had looked at him thoroughly, in complete silence, as Jongin was staring at the ground, whispering that Taemin, if a little distant at first, had always been kind to him and was growing warmer by the day. And oh, how Jongin loved him. His passion and his excitement, his dumbness as well as his cuteness, and even his little teasings.

Maybe Jongin loved him just a little too much. But who would blame him? Minseok couldn't. Even though he couldn't quite comprehend how anyone could fall for someone as nutty as Lee Taemin, he would never mock Jongin for growing too fond of his warlock. He had been there himself. And that was what he told his younger brother, who listened to him with shiny eyes, an overwhelming hope swallowing him whole.

Back then, never in a million years would Jongin have thought of asking their teacher if he would be allowed to fall in love with his warlock. But lately, the question had plagued his mind as he looked at Taemin with forlorn eyes, sighing by the window, wondering if he was committing a fault. And sadly, there hadn't been anyone trustworthy enough around there, whom Jongin could confide in and ask for guidance.

Minseok had brushed all of Jongin's worries away when he admitted that he was in a romantic relationship with Jongdae, and had been for years. Hope had almost chocked Jongin. But then, as they strolled together through the garden, Jongin had sighed that he didn't think Taemin would ever feel the same for him. That had been right when their two warlocks' voices had been close enough to eavesdrop on.

Thus, Jongin was flustered. He had just heard Taemin admitting to one of his friends such chivalrous things that his little heart was thundering with pleasure and contentment. It felt all the more special to him that Taemin wouldn't be ashamed of saying those words – that he had already told Jongin, more or less – to someone else. It was something. Jongin couldn't tell what, but it was a small step, a small achievement.

"He probably doesn't feel the same..." Minseok said calmly, as he sat next to Jongin against the trunk of the chestnut tree.

Jongin felt a pang of sadness and turned to him, a little dumbstruck. His sudden joy shattered.

"What?" he said in a wretched voice.

"Taemin loves you but he probably isn't in love with you."

"Why do you-...?"

"It doesn't mean it won't come," Minseok continued when he realized the vivid pain he had caused his brother. "I just wanted to tell you not to get ahead of yourself because I made that mistake and it was quite painful to go through. Jongdae told me later that as long as I hadn't shifted, he saw me as his beloved pet and nothing more. Even though he knew I had a human form, it was too difficult for him to process it before I showed myself. When you think about it, it seems quite logical, doesn't it? Warlocks are humans after all... They can't see past their noses."

Jongin blinked very slowly as realization hit him. His eyes widened and he let out a little exclamation of both surprise and resignation. Then his shoulders slumped.

"You're right," he murmured.

"'Dae was all 'but Minseok, I couldn't possibly fall in love with a _cat_!'. It was mortifying, let me tell you."

The anecdote took a small, sad smile out of Jongin. He sighed pitifully and his brother climbed his legs to cuddle him and purr on his lap.

"I've heard something that should cheer you up again," Minseok simpered.

"What is it?" Jongin asked.

"Well, we came here because Kim Junmyeon called 'Dae. And I heard them talk about Taemin at some point. Junmyeon was saying that he couldn't believe how much Taemin's familiar had changed him, that he looked so impossibly fond of you, and such things. Jongdae was so curious about you that he decided to come to meet you. It ran through the whole Circle, you know... They all joke and call you the Hermit Whisperer."

Jongin giggled softly. Even through the worries, grey thoughts, and new questions circling in his mind, he couldn't deny the happiness he felt knowing that Taemin's friends acknowledged how fond of him his warlock was. A comforting warmth settled back in his stomach and Jongin decided to tuck all other doubts away for the time being. He would take whatever small steps came his way.

Then, the front door of the cottage opened and Taemin appeared on the porch, exclaiming that there were honey puffs and cream for familiars that would happen to want a little something to eat. Minseok bounced away at the mention of cream and Jongin whined to wait for him as he ran as fast as he could.

Later, comfortably sitting on Taemin's lap while eating his honey puffs, Jongin listened to the two warlocks talk about this and that, and thought to himself that the way Taemin was petting him wasn't so different than the way Jongdae was petting Minseok, and thus, in the shelter of his mind, he let himself hope again for his love to one day be reciprocated.

That evening, when Jongin climbed the stairs to Taemin's bedroom after his usual wash time in the bathroom, he found his warlock drowning in his cute oversized shirt, sitting on top of their blankets and seeming lost in thoughts.

The door opened a little wider with a creak – due to Jongin's round behind – and Taemin looked up, immediately smiling kindly at him and patting the little spot next to him. His familiar hurried to climb the bed and join him, leaning against Taemin's leg and hand for some well-deserved petting.

"What's on your mind, Taeminnie?" Jongin asked gently, tilting his head when his warlock hummed in confusion. "You look distracted since Jongdae and Minseok left."

Taemin raised his eyebrows for a second but then chuckled.

"Nothing much, nothing much," Taemin said softly with the tone of someone with a lot more on their mind than a 'nothing much'.

Jongin must have felt his dishonesty because he squinted at him suspiciously, which only made Taemin laugh more.

"Say, baby bear... would you like some clothes?"

Jongin straightened up, bewildered.

"Uh?"

Taemin was blushing – very slightly but Jongin could tell – as he rubbed his hand on his neck.

"I just thought-... Or well, Jongdae told me I should give you some, and I thought it wasn't such a bad idea. Just so you have something to wear when you go around, making potions in the garden and all. But like, you don't have to. If you'd rather stay naked, I mean... it's your business you know. It doesn't mean I'll expect you to shift in front of me."

Jongin smiled of that very cute grin that looked so silly for a bear. Taemin relaxed.

"That would be nice."

"I can lend you some of my clothes if they fit you... Or we can buy you some of your own," he mused. "But I know you like to steal from me."

"You know me well," Jongin smiled coyly.

"You rascal."

Taemin scratched his familiar's head fondly and looked over his chest of drawers with a hum.

"Which size would you need?"

"I'm a little taller than you."

Taemin turned back to squint at him skeptically and Jongin snorted.

"I can tell because I have to lower my head when I get into the pantry and I know you don't."

"What were you doing in the pantry, you glutton?"

"That's irrelevant to the discussion right now," Jongin simpered.

Taemin grabbed his hind paws to pull on them, causing Jongin to fall back with a little cry.

"What am I going to do with such a crook of a familiar?!"

"Ah! Too bad you can't return me," Jongin sniggered as he wrestled his warlock's hands and arms.

"Maybe I'll still try!"

"You'd miss me too much."

Taemin caught him as Jongin tried to worm his way out of his hold, and threw him on the pillows like a bag of potatoes.

"You wish!" he taunted before he got up to get to his drawers.

Jongin rolled on the bed and sat back up, his hairs all ruffled and tousled on his head. He grinned when he saw Taemin peaking through his clothes to find him something decent to wear.

"What would you like to wear?"

"Anything comfortable," Jongin chirped. "I'm not picky."

Taemin rummaged through his drawers for a moment, pilling a few things on the floor before he came back to the bed, smirking when he saw the cowlick on Jongin's forehead.

"Look," he sighed as he unfolded a pair of light grey sweatpants. "Those might fit. Most of my pants are tight so uh-... if you're really taller than me, that's probably all I can offer."

Jongin nodded gently.

"I'll try them on, thanks."

"You're welcome," Taemin shrugged, almost shyly. "It's not much. But for the tops, I think anything I own could fit you, maybe... Let's hope."

He showed Jongin a couple of large tee-shirts and let him pick the one he liked the most. Jongin was pawing at his new clothes, feeling the soft fabric of the grey sweatpants under his toes, and trying not to damage it with his claws. He tilted his head in slight perplexity when he noticed from the corner of his eyes Taemin playing with the hem of one of the tee-shirts laying on the blankets. His warlock looked lost deep in thoughts but before Jongin could ask him what new little worry had appeared in his mind, Taemin spoke.

"So hum..." his was voice drew out as he tried to pretend that he just had a fleeting thought, unexpectedly, but Jongin wasn't fooled. "You already knew Minseok."

It sounded silly even to Taemin's ears. He wasn't sure why he couldn't find the courage to ask head-on about Jongin's childhood. Or more like, he didn't want to admit just how scared he was of Jongin possibly avoiding the subject and not wanting to share anything with him at all.

Jongin understood where Taemin was heading. After all, he wasn't some kind of simpleton bear. All it took was a glance at his warlock – the way he stood, his pink cheekbones, his elusive eyes – for Jongin to perceive his thoughts just as well as a mind-reader. And as the thoughtful, kind soul that he was, he decided to play Taemin's game and not to raise on the warlock's absolute and horrifying lack of subtlety.

"Yes," Jongin answered kindly, "he's my older brother. Have you heard of the way familiars are raised?"

Taemin perked up, his face bright with joy as he proudly nodded twice.

"Oh, I've heard a thing or two... Something like-... hum... Familiars are raised in a trio, taught by another spirit... Is that correct?"

"Yes, it is," Jongin said fondly.

Taemin looked at him a little awkwardly, then breathed out, still nodding, before he turned on his butt. And Jongin almost wanted to laugh.

"Oh, maybe I should give you some underwear..."

"That'd be very nice."

Taemin got up stiffly to rummage through his drawer of boxers clumsily.

"I grew up in the mountains of Mamroth," Jongin continued light-heartedly and his eyes shone with pleasure when he noticed the way Taemin glanced at him over his shoulder with a little grin.

"Oh?"

"I was brought there when I was around 5 years old... At first, I had two older siblings, Minseok and Seulgi. And when Minseok got called to Jongdae, Mark joined us. He's a colibri spirit. Mark, I mean... They're pretty rare."

Taemin came back to him and handed him a couple of underwear.

"Here you go," he said softly.

Jongin immediately frowned and pouted, pushing something away with his paw in displeasure.

"Ah, I don't wear socks."

"Mhmm?"

"I don't like socks," Jongin whined again. "They're itchy."

Taemin's eyes widened slightly before he began to laugh as he took the offending pair of black socks he had grabbed along.

"Oh, I'm very sorry, your Majesty. Allow me to take them away from your sight."

Jongin punched him playfully and Taemin pinched his snout.

"What about Seulgi?" Taemin asked softly as he put away all attires that Jongin wasn't interested in. "Is it okay to ask what kind of familiar she was?"

"Oh, she was a bear too. But a black bear. We weren't the same."

"I see."

Taemin swung his arms back and forth with a tiny smile and Jongin squirmed under his gaze.

"Would you mind turning around so I can try them on?"

"I'm sorry?"

"The clothes..."

Taemin jolted in surprise and stammered for a minute.

"Oh? Yeah. Yeah, sure. I mean... I can just uh-... I can give you a minute. I'll wait outside. So, it's better, you know."

Jongin watched as Taemin almost tripped on his way out of their bedroom.

"Taeminnie, you're acting so weird."

"Am I?"

They looked at each other and under Jongin's serious, pointed look, the warlock deflated like a balloon. He huffed and kneeled on the ground, propping his arms on the mattress to stare at his familiar.

"I've been wanting to ask about your childhood all afternoon, baby bear. I was there, talking with Jongdae and all. And you were away. And now I miss you every time you're not right by my side. But I don't wanna pry, you know. And yet, I want you to tell me. And I kept thinking that if you didn't want to tell me, I'd be so upset. I'm just very curious about you but I don't want to force you into anything. It's so very difficult to care for someone... Like, actually _care_. Because with anyone else, you know, I'd just be annoying the shit out of them until they tell me everything I want to know. But I wouldn't even want to know personal stuff about others because that'd be boring. But you're not boring and since I care about you, I don't want to hurt your feelings by being too pushy. Why is everything so complicated?"

Jongin stared at him with comically round eyes and Taemin pouted harder.

"I've never been so considerate about anyone's feelings before. What a bother," the warlock sighed as he let his head fall on his folded arm.

"You're so silly," Jongin whispered more to himself than to Taemin.

"Hey!"

"I'll tell you anything you want to know, you fool," Jongin complained, almost accusingly.

Taemin frowned at Jongin's loud, offended tone.

"Well, I don't know, you have a right to keep secrets!"

"Yeah I know but I'm very emotional now because you just said you cared about me so much!" Jongin wailed.

"Why are you yelling at me? I told you a lot of time that I love you, haven't I?"

Jongin let himself fall on his back dramatically with a huff.

"I yell because I love you too, Taeminnie. You're so dumb! I don't know what to answer to everything you said. I am only a little bear, after all."

"What are you saying now? You're an adult!"

"Yes," Jongin shrieked. "I just said that to emphasize the fact that I feel small and vulnerable because-... I don't even know. I have many feelings and can we stop yelling now?"

Taemin froze, snorted, then laughed.

"Feelings, really," he snickered while shaking his head. "What a waste of time."

"Can you just hug me or something?" Jongin whined.

Taemin smiled, pushed the sweatpants away, and sat on the bed before he wrapped his hands around his familiar's limp body to hold him tight against his chest. Jongin sighed deeply and closed his eyes delightfully.

"I'm fond of you, baby bear," Taemin confessed in an undertone. "And I think that sometimes, I overthink and act stupid because I know that I lack a lot of social skills... and you know... I don't want you to leave."

"I won't leave. Ever," Jongin grumbled, his voice muffled against Taemin's chest.

Taemin held him a little tighter.

"I'd like to know more about you. I got scared to ask... because I got embroiled in my thoughts. I struggle to see where the limits are between what is okay to ask and what isn't."

"You know, even if you ask something that I don't want to answer, I'll just tell you so. I won't pack my things and leave because you want to know where I know Minseok from."

"I was being excessively silly."

"Yes, you were. But I was too. We're always a good team, even when we're dumb."

Taemin laughed and Jongin relaxed in his arms.

"Should I let you try on your clothes?"

"Yeah, let's do that."

Taemin let him go after a little squeeze and left the room to sit on top of the stairs. He heard Jongin shift, heard him handle his clothes quietly, heard him hum, and it suddenly hit him with a strange accuracy that his little bear cub of a familiar truly had a human form.

"Taeminnie? Are you still close?"

Taemin straightened up in haste but didn't dare to come too close to the door.

"Yeah?"

He was a little ashamed of how much his voice had wavered in just one muttered word.

"The clothes fit," Jongin said. "It's alright."

"Oh. That's great."

Jongin's voice sounded different. A little deeper, maybe. Taemin wasn't sure.

He didn't realize that he had remained frozen for a whole two minutes, trying to pinpoint exactly what was so peculiar in Jongin's human voice.

"You can come back."

A little dazed, Taemin went back to their bedroom to find Jongin in his bear cub form, under the blankets and sitting against his pillow, his clothes neatly folded on his nightstand.

Taemin didn't think twice before undressing and changing into his pajama but when he turned back, he saw that Jongin was resolutely facing the window to give him privacy.

"So," Taemin mused as he slipped under the bedsheets and squirmed closer to his familiar, "would you tell me about your childhood?"

Jongin rolled until he hit his warlock's chest, snuggled to him, and Taemin happily listened to his soft purr. Then, with a snap, he turned off the couple of candles around the room.

"Where to start?" Jongin hummed.

Taemin pressed a tiny kiss on his head and stroked his fur slowly.

"Were you close to all your siblings?"

Jongin nodded and began to describe his life in the mountains of Mamroth, with an older brother who was always a little too perfect and made him self-conscious at times, a sister who liked adventures so much she kept fleeing away from their nest, and a teacher that had been nothing but patient, kind, and supportive to them all. He told Taemin that 'Teacher' was a title too modest and plain for the centaur he thought of as his family, his father.

Sirius had taught all of them how to control their magic and how to shift, before letting them decide what they wished to learn about, at their own pace.

"I wanted to learn Botany and Herbology the most," Jongin murmured. "Anything to do with plants. Minseok and Seulgi kept saying that I should learn about demons and creatures instead, but Sirius said it was my decision to make."

"Why did they try to tell you what to learn?" Taemin asked curiously.

"Oh, they didn't mean bad. They were just so sure I would be affected to a Demonologist warlock, you know. Everyone I ever met thought so. Except for Sirius."

Somehow, that comment caused Taemin's heart to clench and he didn't notice how he tightened his hold on his bear cub.

"Why would they think so?" he inquired and tried hard not to mutter that Jongin was his and no Demonologist could hope to take him away.

"Because of my specialty."

"Your what?"

Jongin breathed out through his nose and grumbled softly.

"Each familiar has a little thing of their own, you know. It's like... a strength or a-... a particularity that often shows its use when we get assigned to a warlock. Like... It makes sense. For example, Minseok can see the Invisibles, so we all always assumed he would go to a Spiritualist, or maybe a Necromancer. And he did. Since I can eat demons, everyone thought that I would go to a Demonologist, because I would be very useful to them. But... I still wanted to learn about plants instead. Because I love plants. And honestly... I spent years hoping and wishing I wouldn't go to a Demonologist because I didn't want to be always fighting, you know? It's such a dangerous lifestyle and I didn't want to spend my time worrying about what would happen to my warlock. But then I came to you... and my wish came true. I have so many demons I can eat and yet... I can hunt them only when I want to and the rest of the time, I can stay with you and we do magic. It's all perfect. Because you live here, it all makes sense. Maybe I can eat demons because you live here. Or maybe you live here because I can eat demons. Maybe I learned plants because you are so terrible with them but you need them in your potions. I like thinking like this because it feels like we were truly meant for each other."

Taemin closed his eyes and his body tensed a little as he tried not to hold Jongin too close.

"I'm so glad you are happy here," Taemin whispered. "I'm so glad we make sense."

Jongin remained quiet but his purr got a little louder, vibrating against Taemin's chest. Taemin exhaled loudly and his body finally loosened.

Jongin wanted to ask Taemin about his childhood too, about his past before Jongin got there, and that kind of thing, but he could tell his warlock wasn't in the right mind for such a talk. Instead, he rubbed his snout on Taemin's neck.

"I won't leave," he said again to reassure him.

"Thank you, baby bear."

Taemin soothingly stroked his back and Jongin fell asleep first.

Taemin remained awake for a couple more hours, looking at the moon crescent through his window and holding onto his bear cub as if Jongin could heal all the coldness in his heart, all the remains of hurt and insecurities.

.

.

.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, my dears ♥
> 
> It took me a little while to write this chapter because I moved out & changed countries & my life was a mess those last few weeks/months... but I'm better now! & I'm happy I could get back to my stories.  
I hope you liked learning a bit more about familiars & Nini's childhood!! The pining is only now UNVEILING.
> 
> Please take care of yourself until next time.


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